Happy Endings: Real or Not?
by blankdreamer-13
Summary: Roxas put his trust in what was real. Which was why he didn't really believe in dramas ending happily. So when he starts to fall for his best friend, how will he handle it?
1. His Life

A/N: My first fic and I'm not used to writing romance, so go easy on me. Anyway, I know the whole high school, best friend thing is overdone, but this story has been sitting in the back of my head since forever.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts sigh

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His Life

The sun was steadily rising over the sleepy Twilight Town's horizon. People were already filing out of their houses, ready to go to school or work. But despite the movement that could be seen all over town, the whole town was experiencing a peaceful quiet. Except, that is, in the Strife's house.

"Hurry up, Roxas! We're gonna be late!" a spiky-haired brunette yelled, as he rushed down the stairs, pulling over his shoulder his signature black jacket and a piece of toast in his hand.

"I know already!" shouted a blonde, whose hair was also spiky but up into one direction. He currently had a bag over one shoulder, already dressed in his white jacket and pants.

He rushed down the stairs as well, shouting "Don't think I haven't forgotten this is your fault, Sora! If you had only gotten your lazy butt up when your alarm went off…"

"Hey! I resent that!" he retorted. "Is it my fault that some dude made it so that I can press the snooze button over and over and over?"

"Whatever! We don't have time for this!" Roxas said, exasperated. He looked around the front door. "Where is it?"

"Here you go."

Their mother, Aerith, appeared holding two skateboards, one white, and one black. She held them both out to her twins.

"Thanks mom," Sora said. "We're heading out now."

"Bye mom!" Roxas said, and with that, they both rushed out the door.

As soon as they left, a peace familiar to the rest of Twilight Town filled the house. Aerith turned from the door shaking her head, muttering, "Practically every morning…"

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The rolling sound of skateboards was the only thing entering their ears as the twins approached their school.

"See?" Sora gloated. "We actually made it a few minutes before the bell. We didn't have to rush."

"You're still a lazy bum," Roxas teased. "By the way, because of the rush we had to go through this morning, it looks like you only remembered to put on _one_ glove."

"What?!" He looked down at his hands. Sure enough, only his right hand was gloved.

"Don't worry," Roxas grinned. He pulled out a matching glove from his pocket and tossed it to Sora. His twin beamed at him.

"Thanks, Rox."

"Don't mention it. Now hurry up. I wanna see the others before class starts."

"Yeah. I also want to see Ka-, I mean, the others."

Roxas laughed at his twin's small blunder. He doesn't understand why he even tries to hide it.

So the pair pushed off the ground even harder, bringing the school's view closer and closer.

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They found their friends at the school's courtyard, lazily hanging around. There was Riku, Sora's best friend, Kairi, a redhead and Sora's crush, and finally, Naminé, an aspiring artist. Out of their group, Roxas was really the odd one out. He was most of the time quiet and lost in his own world. It often gave others the impression that he was emo. In fact, there was only one person who could bring him out of that world of his: Naminé.

Naminé would seem to be a sweet, timid girl, because of her pale skin, blue eyes and blonde hair, making her look somewhat angelic. She really usually was, but she's had her moments of craziness, especially if the other girls are with her.

He couldn't understand why Naminé could get though to him, but it never really seemed to bother him. It just seemed natural, like his hair. Needless to say, she was his best friend. He honestly felt that she was the only one who knew him, maybe even better than Sora.

He plopped down next to Naminé. "Hey Naminé, watcha doin'?"

She smiled at him in greeting and showed him the sketchbook she had been drawing in. She had drawn a picture of him and Sora, running down a flight of stairs with school stuffs flying round. In other words, the events this morning.

Roxas' eyes widened in disbelief. "How did you--?"

"I dunno," she answered, smiling at his bewildered face. "I just imagined it. And I kind of assume you guys go through something like that."

"It's Sora's fault," he defended. The bell suddenly rang and they all got up to go to their classes.

As they walked through the corridors, they passed the school bulletin board. Kairi stopped to take a look at it.

"Hey guys! Look, they've already posted the details of the prom!" she exclaimed.

"The prom? Already?" Sora asked. "But that's months away, why are there already details?"

Kairi slapped him playfully on the arm. "Because, genius, a place has to be rented, food has to be catered, a band needs to be booked, tables need to be organized, and us girls need time to make ourselves beautiful for our dates, right Naminé?"

Naminé smiled and nodded in response, while Sora, upon hearing the word date, blushed a bit. Roxas couldn't help but snigger as he saw this. No doubt the brunette had plans to ask Kairi out.

"What, you girls need months to prepare?" Riku mocked. "I mean, us guys can get ready in a day, even if haven't got suits by that time. Well, me at least."

Naminé shook her head. "Whatever. C'mon, I don't want to be late."

As they walked to class, Roxas got lost in his thoughts: _"The prom huh? I don't really like dances that much but if the gang is going, I guess it would be ok. No need to bother myself with a date though, I don't mind going alone. Heck, the only girl I would ever ask to a dance would be Naminé, and that would be only as friends. But a lot of people are probably going to ask her, and one of those people might be one she wants to go to the dance with."_

"Roxas? Helooo?" Naminé called, waving a hand in front of his face. When he finally snapped out of his thoughts, she giggled. "You still here on earth?"

"Yeah, sorry about that. Just thinking, you know?"

"Like always," she teased. "Anyway, I'm this way," pointing down another corridor. "See you guys at lunch!" She detached herself from the group and headed to her class.

Sora and Riku had the same class so they too left, so that Kairi and Roxas were walking together to class.

"Soooooooo, Roxas," she said calling his attention. "What do you think of Naminé?"

"Huh? Why do you ask?"

"I dunno, just answer the question," she said impatiently. "Well?"

"I think she's a great friend, my best friend. You know that."

"Are you sure she's _just _a friend?"

"Yeah," he said truthfully. Finally, his slow brain caught up with what Kairi was insinuating. "I don't think of her _that _way, Kairi. She's honestly just a friend." And remembering that Kairi had a small tendency to play matchmaker, he added, "And don't let me catch you trying to work things around, okay?

"Okay, okay," she said, raising her hands in mock surrender. "I won't let you _catch_ me. Anyway, I'll see you later, kay?"

She ran off down another corridor, leaving Roxas alone. He didn't even give the topic another thought. He knew how he felt. He had always considered her just a friend. So he just walked on to class.

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A/N: There 'ya go. How was it? Plz review!


	2. Putting Distance

A/N: Next chapter already! had to write this to clear my head. Anyway, here it is!

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts

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Putting Distance

A loud sound of bell rung throughout the entire school. Cluttering sounds of papers being shuffled and chairs pushed back filled each classroom followed by footsteps headed toward the cafeteria. Roxas, however, was in no rush. He slowly lifted his head from his desk and stood up. He had a really relaxing nap in his Algebra period, especially since the teacher's voice easily droned him to sleep. Seeing that he was the only one left in the classroom, he gathered his things and left.

"Let's see...," he muttered to himself. "On Wendsdays, Naminé has biology before lunch. Right then!" He sprinted off toward the corridor connecting the school's biology lab and cafeteria, hoping to catch up to her before lunch.

When he got there, he saw her with Selphie, a hyperactive brunette. Giving sugar to this girl was dangerous. She usually hung around with Tidus and Wakka, the two star players of the school's blitzball team, but Sora and the others were very familiar with them.

He walked toward the two, smiling and waving. "Hey Naminé, hey Selphie."

Naminé was about to greet him as well when Selphie, now recognized to be currently high on sugar stepped between them.

"Hi Roxas! How are you doing today? I was wondering, how come whenever I see you, you're always smiling? I mean, don't you get depressed at all? It would be pretty weird if you smiled all the time. Then again, I don't see you all the time so I can't be sure..."

She had said all that in a span of five seconds, so it took Roxas awhile to register the message. He didn't smile all the time, that was for sure. He supposed the only reason she would assume that was because she would usually be with Naminé, whom he would always give a smile to. He was glad Selphie wasn't able to make the connection because she thrived on gathering and spreading gossip. She would probably think the same as Kairi.

"...and Tidus and Wakka said they wouldn't go to the mall with me because..."

He was also quite glad that Selphie had a very short attention span when high on sugar because now he wouldn't have to think of a plausible excuse for her question. He glanced at Naminé and smiled again, for she was currently trying to slow down the hyperactive girl before she burned out at the speed she was talking. Naminé saw the smile, and guessed its meaning correctly for she rolled her eyes as if to say: "You try doing this."

Roxas walked in silence beside the two girls who were chatting loudly about random topics. The fact that he wasn't involved in the conversation didn't bother him that much. He enjoyed Naminé's presence, and that was good enough for him. Of course talking to her would be even better, but still, he didn't complain.

As soon as they walked through the cafeteria's doors, Selphie bounded away to a table where Tidus and Wakka were sitting. Roxas barely heard the girl's final words, something about a mall, biology and the bell.

Roxas saw Sora and the others seated at another table, so he and Naminé made their way toward them. Once seated, he heard bits of Sora and Kairi's discussion.

"Really? It's already kind of late to ask a girl a few weeks before the prom?" Sora asked.

Kairi sighed. "Yes, Sora. You should ask about two months before hand. Ugh, you've been asking me non-stop about the prom since this morning. Why are so interested?"

"Oh, n-no reason."

Roxas smirked and leaned over the table. "I'll tell you why. It's because he - mmff!"

Kairi raised her eyebrows at Sora. He had just stuffed one of his sandwiches into Roxas' mouth to prevent him from blabbing.

"Erm, yeah. Because I'm...," Sora said, fumbling to find the right words. "...really excited about it. Yeah! That's what he was about to say!"

Kairi looked to Roxas, who was still trying to get the sandwhich down, asking to confirm what he had said. Roxas looked at her, then glanced to Sora, who was looking at him with a murderous glare. He nodded curtly, supporting Sora's half-true statement. He didn't want another sandwich forced into his mouth.

Roxas started choking on the sandwich Sora had force fed him. He looked around for something to drink. Naminé handed him a glass of water and patted his back gently. When he finally got it down, he smiled at Naminé in thanks, but immediately turned to Sora.

"Ugh, Sora!" he yelled. "You know I hate corned beef!"

Sora rolled his eyes in response. "Well, that got rid of my appetite," Roxas said, so he simply waited, chatting and watching the others eat.

As soon as the bell rang, they gathered their things and went to their respective classes.

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The bell's final ring of the day resounded throughout the entire school. Tired students dragged their feet out of their classrooms while Roxas, full of the energy he had stored from the classes he had slept through, half-jogged to Naminé's classroom.

This time, he saw her with Hayner, the school rebel, Olette, the topnotcher, and Pence, the school paper's photographer. He smiled and waved to all of them. He was quite familiar with Hayner's gang, and would hang around with them when Sora and the others were not around.

Roxas once again walked in silence alongside them. He was quite relaxed, that is, until he saw one of Seifer's worshippers, Vivi. The sight of Vivi triggered a series of unpleasant thoughts in Roxas' mind. He remembered how Vivi would constanly follow Seifer around and how he irritated Seifer.

When he thought of that, he couldn't help but compare himself to Vivi. He, too, constantly hung around Naminé. He wondered if Naminé sometimes thought he was bothersome. She actually had a large circle of friends, while he only really had Naminé, Sora, Kairi, and Riku. And the only one he could really open up to was Naminé. He felt himself sadden as he thought on. He felt like a burr, stuck on his best friend, just a bother. He glanced at Naminé. She had a big smile on her face as she chatted with the others. Wasn't it selfish of him to stick around Naminé when she could hang out with her other friends?

"Hey Naminé," he said. He had decided. He should have done so a long time ago. "I'm gonna go on home. I'll see you tomorrow, kay?"

He thought he saw a flash of disappointment on her face, but he dismissed it. He was sure he only imagined it, unconsciously trying to delude himself. She smiled. "Okay, tomorrow."

Roxas put down his skateboard and sped off. He had decided to put some distance between him and Naminé. It was time he stopped clinging to her, suffocating her with his presence. Even though a voice deep down said it wasn't right, he knew that it was. So he ignored that voice and went straight home.

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A/N: Things start to change in this chapter. Maybe not in the direction most of you hoped, but it will, eventually. Just stay with me till then :-P. Plz review!


	3. A Place to Think

A/N: Need to clear my head again. Is it weird that I update to clear my head? Well, whatever. I also changed the genre, since I feel that the theme of the story might be a bit too serious. Here's the third chapter of my story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts

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A Place to Think

Roxas sped across the pavement on his skateboard, completely absorbed in his thoughts. Well, sort of. He actually didn't want to think about it anymore and just blindly follow the decision he had made earlier. Thinking about it made him grow a bit more depressed, because everytime, he reached the same conclusion.

He finally got home, pushed the door open and went straight to his room. Sleep would at least give him a sure break from his thoughts. He didn't even bother changing. He just collapsed onto his bed.

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"Hey Roxas."

He heard the voice. Most definitely Sora. Which meant that he won't get hurt for ignoring it. Well, not too much at least. He didn't move and pretended he was still sleeping.

"Roxas," came Sora's voice a little louder.

He continued to feign sleep. He knew Sora would leave him alone soon enough.

"Roxas!" he shouted.

He fidgeted, to make his sleep plausible. It would be weird if he didn't react a bit to the voice at the volume it had now. Sora knew he was a light sleeper. But apparently, he made the wrong move. Sora thought of it as a sign that what he was doing was working, so he positioned himself on the other side of the room...

WUMP!

Roxas eyes shot open as something heavy dropped onto him. Sora was on top of him, staring at him intently, and his knees were digging painfully into his stomach.

Roxas glared at him. "Sora, could you get off me?"

"I need to talk to you." His voice was uncommonly serious. Roxas took this as a sign that he should take him seriously as well.

"Okay, but I don't think we can have a meaningful conversation in this position."

"Oh, right." Sora jumped off him and seated himself on his own bed at the other end of the room.

"So, what is it?" Roxas asked.

Roxas saw him blush a few shades of red. "Erm, yeah. I'm not sure if you noticed, but I kinda..."

Roxas leaned forward, listening, waiting patiently.

"...like Kairi."

Roxas fell off his bed. He had been expecting something a bit more dramatic.

"Okay...so?"

"That's it?! That's all you have to say?! You find out your twin has a crush and that's all you say?!"

"Sora, that's old news to me. It's old news to anyone with one eye that's half-blind. It's kind of stupid actually that Kairi and Riku don't notice."

"Hey! Don't call Kairi stupid!" Sora yelled.

"Okay, okay. So is that all you wanted to say?"

"Well, no. I was kinda hoping for some advice."

"Advice? On relationships? From me?"

"Yeah, seeing you have a great relationship with Naminé," he smirked.

Roxas stiffened at those words. "We're friends, Sora. That's all." Just saying they were friends, seemed hard to say now, compared to when he would state them being best friends like a fact.

"Heh. Riiiight."

"Listen Sora, if you're gonna be like that, I'm going back to sleep. As for Kairi, she has to know. That's all I'm going to say." He laid on his bed and pulled the covers over him.

"Hey! Roxas! Damn, you can be really stubborn you know that?"

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It's been a week since Roxas made the decision to put some distance between him and Naminé. It wasn't as hard as he had expected, but maybe that fact made it worse. He didn't ignore Naminé, he would never do that. Whenever he saw her, he put on a smile and waved at her. But he didn't go searching for her anymore. Whenever he saw her with friends, he smiled, waved, and went his own way.

School had just ended, and Roxas was already about to go home. He never lingered around school anymore since Naminé was usually the only reason he stayed late. Just before he left the school gates, he saw her with Selphie. Something surged through him, a strange feeling. He pushed it away and left the school grounds, but he didn't head home. He had to think, and he knew the perfect place to do so.

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He was sitting on top of the station's clocktower, a sea-salt ice cream in his hand. This was his favorite spot, and what made it even better was that he was the only one who knew about this place, not even Naminé knew. It was the perfect place to think in peace.

As Roxas licked the cold treat and watched the sunset, his mind wandered to Naminé. He knew that he had made the decision to distance himself from her for her sake, but he couldn't help but regret that decision. He longed for her soothing presence, but he still found it easy to keep away. He couldn't understand why. He missed her, he felt so lonely. Loneliness, that was what he felt earlier that day. But it seemed that Naminé didn't miss him at all. Maybe that was why it was easy to keep away from her. She didn't make any motion to break away from her friends to join him. She didn't look back the way he did whenever they passed each other in the corridors. And when they did talk, whenever they had the same class, it was like nothing was wrong in her world.

_"Damn, I really am emo_,_"_ he thought.

He sighed, throwing the popsicle stick away. Maybe thinking wasn't the best thing for him right now. All he had managed to do was understand why he was depressed and make himself feel worse. He got down from the tower and went home.

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A/N: How was it? Still not turning into the romance direction, but I'm getting close, I promise. Plz review!


	4. In the Rain

A/N: Okay, here we go, fourth chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts

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In the Rain

Roxas trudged through the halls of school with a slightly downcasted face. He was still able to keep to his decision of putting some distance between him and Naminé, probably the reason he was feeling so miserable. Sure, he saw her in the halls and in class every now and then, but the loneliness he felt was getting a better hold of him.

He was now hanging out with Sora, just to have some company. Sora was at least able to distract him from how miserable he really felt. It was better than being alone but then again...

"Sora! Roxas!"

Kairi was standing in the school courtyard, waving to both of them. And of course, Sora, being the lovesick puppy that he is, rushed off immediately, not caring that he was leaving his twin in his dust. It happened every time he was with Sora. They would eventually cross paths with Kairi and Sora would bound away. It made Roxas think twice whether hanging out with Sora was really a good idea. He took a glance at Sora and smiled. At least it looked like his twin's life was going great. Sora was spending time with Kairi everyday after school. He dropped his skateboard to the ground and got ready to leave. He looked one last time around and was surprised to see that Naminé wasn't anywhere around. He saw her friends, Hayner's gang and Selphie, but she wasn't with them.

_"I wonder where she is...,"_ he thought.

Roxas heard a low rumble and looked to the sky. It looked like it was about to rain soon from the looks of the dark looming clouds. He smiled. It had been a while since it had rained. Roxas pushed off the ground and left the school grounds.

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It was pouring rain heavily, and no one could be seen out in the open. Roxas, however, skated through the park as if it was a plain sunny day. He had recently taken a habit in skating through the park on the way home. Even though it was a detour, he took it because the scenery relaxed him.

The fact that it was raining hard at the moment didn't matter to him, and it didn't change his route. In fact, Roxas liked rain. It was another one of those things that relaxed him. He supposed it was because it seemed that the world shared his sadness, making his load a little lighter.

Roxas chuckled. He remembered that this was one of the things he and Naminé disagreed on. She hated rain, probably because her wardrobe consisted mostly of white. The thought brought a bittersweet sensation. Such a fond memory, but about whom it was brought about sad thoughts. _"Naminé..."_

Roxas skateboard skidded to a halt. Someone was out on the path. He couldn't see the person because the person was turned away from him and a white umbrella was in the way. Who would be crazy enough to walk in this weather? Well, other than him.

The person turned to face him, and he was shocked to see Naminé. He had never seen her out in the rain, not even with an umbrella. A feeling in Roxas made him want to talk to her. _"Remember, you made a decision_," a voice in his head warned. He turned his head away, so that she wouldn't see him gritting his teeth, forcing himself to walk a path that he didn't want to take anymore. But when he faced her again, he plastered a smile onto his face. He scooted toward her, and saw her smile in greeting.

"Hey Naminé," he greeted.

"Hey Roxas. Still like the rain I see."

"Yeah, well, you know me."

There was an akward silence, broken only by the sound of the falling rain. Roxas felt that there were a million things he wanted to say, but he couldn't think of a single word to say. Just staying close to Naminé, he felt his spirits rise, he felt less lonely. He wished that he could at least, just stay like this. Even though they weren't saying a thing, that was his greatest wish.

But he knew it wouldn't last. Couldn't last. He took Naminé's silence as a sign that she didn't have anything to say.

"Okay. Well, I'll be seeing you..." He skated past her, hiding the sadness that was settling in, showing on his face.

"Are you mad at me?"

A screeching sound was emitted from Roxas skateboard as he stopped. He was surprised to hear such a question. He turned around and saw that Naminé's smile was gone. Her face was sad. Roxas was filled with guilt, and bowed his head. Was he the cause of the sadness he could see on her face?

"No, of course not. Why would you think that?"

"You've been keeping your distance from me."

Her choice of words stung Roxas for some reason. Yes, that was what he was doing, but from the way she said it, it seemed like such a cruel thing to do.

"Yeah, I guess I have."

"Why?"

Roxas didn't know why he couldn't answer right away. He had repeated the reason over and over in his head for a week now but now that he was about to explain it to Naminé...

"Because I felt like you didn't need me, and I didn't want to be bother to a person I care about," he answered. The way she didn't seem to notice he was gone, that was what went through his mind.

"That's so stupid."

His head shot up at these words. How could she say that?! He was doing it for her! And now she was saying what he was doing is stupid! But these thoughts vanished as she saw her face. She looked like she was on the verge of tears.

"How could you think I don't need you? You're my best friend Roxas! And how could you think you could be a bother to me? You just being there with me is a great thing for me! So how could you think those things?"

Roxas bowed his head in shame. He didn't realize that was how she felt. And he called himself her best friend...

"I'm sorry. I-I didn't know..."

She walked toward him and stared into his azure eyes, and he stared back into her cerulean eyes. Her face broke into a weak smile.

"Well, now you know."

Silence settled between them once again. Roxas couldn't find a way to express how happy he was to hear that Naminé felt she needed him, how light his whole body felt from hearing such words.

"So, are we okay?" she asked.

"Nah," he replied, smiling a true smile for the first time in what felt like an eternity. "We're great."

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He kicked off his shoes on the front porch. Aerith would kill him for tracking mud into the house. He didn't realize how soaked he was until he got out of the rain. As soon as he opened the door, a towel was flung to his face. His mother was standing in front of him. She had her hands on her hips but she was smiling.

"Do you feel better after your little walk in the rain?" she asked.

"Yeah. A lot better," he smiled.

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A/N: Okay, they're back to being best friends. Next chapter, I start on Roxas' developing feelings. Watch out for it! Plz review!


	5. His Denial

A/N: Okay, here's chapter five. Things start to get interesting here, so go on ahead.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts

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His Denial

Roxas yawned big and loud as he walked out of his Biology class, drawing a glare from his teacher. He slung his bag over his shoulder and walked down the corridor with the mass of students. In the corner of his eye, he saw Naminé running to catch up to him.

"Roxas! Wait up!" she whined.

He laughed at her. "I told you Naminé, you don't have to catch up to me before a class. We can just meet halfway. Plus, I was just about to head to your class."

"Hey! Don't laugh," she huffed, a cute pout forming on her face. When Roxas saw her pout, for some strange reason he couldn't understand, his face suddenly started to feel hot. He felt dizzy and lightheaded the longer he looked at her, but fortunately, she started talking, distracting him.

"I've got to make sure you don't start thinking like you did again," she said.

He smiled. Naminé had been going great lengths for him recently. She made sure he was hardly ever alone, and this time, she _insists _in a very persuasive manner to stay with her. She also always chooses to go with him now whenever a friend of hers and Roxas have to go different ways. She tries to see him between classes, going as far as running across the campus when they could just meet halfway. His life wasn't back to normal. It was even better than before.

But he had also seen some changes in himself as well. Naminé seemed to have more influence on him than ever. If he ever catches a glimpse of a pout on her face, a few moments later, he finds himself doing her bidding. Rather willingly he might add. The feeling he had just now wasn't alien to him, he had felt it before. But he just didn't understand why he was feeling that way.

They walked together until they had to once again separate to go to their respective classes. Naminé headed over to the geometry room while Roxas headed over to the gym for PE.

He walked into the locker room and found Riku changing into his swimming trunks. They were having swimming for their gym class. The school administration insisted that the boys' and the girls' swim classes be held separately to avoid possible 'complications'. Right now it was the boys turn so only boys were allowed in the swimming area.

As soon as Roxas had changed, he walked out of the shower room to the swimming pool. He was surprised to see Naminé there, talking to the coach. Roxas suddenly felt very naked in just his swimming trunks so unconsciously started to drape his towel around his waist...

"What are you doing?" Riku asked.

"Covering myself," Roxas answered. Riku looked at him with a confused face but when he saw Naminé, his face changed to a smirk.

"Since when did you care what other people think?" he asked. "Other girls have walked into our class before but you didn't cover yourself."

He was right. Roxas was painfully blunt when it came to that topic. He never cared what other people thought of him so he always felt comfortable whenever he did his own thing. But why was he so conscious now?

"Is it because it's Naminé?" Riku asked.

Roxas could feel his cheeks flush with color when he said that. "N-no, of course not! We're just friends, so why should she be any different?" But Roxas knew he was lying. He cared very much about what Naminé thought of him. A lot more than he cared about Sora's, Kairi's and Riku's view of him.

Riku laughed at his flustered reaction. "Yeah, yeah. Sing another song why don't you?"

Most of the boys had already finished changing and the second people saw Naminé, they started showing off as much muscle as they could. Roxas growled as he saw them walk up to Naminé. Those guys were pathetic, trying to pull off poses in a natural manner. Roxas could just imagine himself walking up to them and punching each in the face. Hard. He found the thought stangely satisfying. Maybe he had a bit of a sadist in him...

"Roxas!" He snapped out of his thoughts to see Naminé waving at him. He waved back with an awkward smile. The guys that had been showing off retreated a bit, glaring at Roxas at the same time.

"Hey Naminé. Erm, what are you doing here?" Roxas asked.

"You forgot your chemistry book. I borrowed it from you, remember?" she said, holding out the thick book.

"Well, yeah, but you could've given it to me after school." He already had chemistry earlier that day. "And don't you have geometry right now?"

"Actually, I got lucky. The teacher asked me to bring a list to the coach, so I decided to bring your chemistry book as well," she beamed.

"Thanks, Naminé," he smiled. "But I don't exactly have anywhere to put it."

"Oh!" It seemed she had only noticed that they only had their towels with them. She looked him over. Roxas couldn't help but feel uncomfortable under her gaze. What was she looking at?

"Well, I'll just leave it with the coach then. I've gotta go now. I told my teacher it would only take ten minutes to give the list to the coach. See you later!" And with that she ran off. He growled at the boys whose eyes followed her as she left the pool area. A loud whistle screeched through the air.

"Okay! You're going to do twenty laps today..."

----------

School had finally ended and Roxas had finished changing back into his clothes. He walked toward the school courtyard where he would meet Naminé but he took his time. He needed it to think.

Why was he acting so strangely lately? Why did he now growl at every boy that tried to hit on her? He never used to care before. Naminé was free to choose any boy she liked, he knew that. Why did he get flustered every time she looked straight at him? He never experienced it before, color flushing into his cheeks, feeling very hot, stammering to get his words out. He couldn't understand why he was experiencing these things.

A small, unknown voice inside of him spoke up. _"It's because you like her."_

Roxas immediately pushed the thought out of his head. He couldn't think that way. Naminé was just a friend, she had always been. When he had met her in grade school, he hadn't introduced himelf with the intention of being romantic. Well, actually, they were lab partners so he didn't do it with the intention of being friendly either. But still, he was never interested in her that way. He remembered teasing her, saying what kind of boy would look at her that way.

Confusion settled into Roxas' head. But why was this happening now? If he liked her, wouldn't he have noticed? They've spent so much time together, and he didn't act like that until now.

The small voice spoke again. _"You don't realize what you have until it's gone."_

Was the voice referring to when he had distanced himself from Naminé? It's true, he really _did_ miss her at that time, but he thought it was just as a friend...

_"No, it was as a friend,"_ he convinced himself. He shook all other thoughts out of his head. He couldn't like Naminé, regardless of whether he thought of her as more than of a friend or not. Because he knew that it would only end in disaster. He knew that if he suddenly came up to her, blabbing about his feelings, it would ruin their friendship. Those dramas you see on cable and read on fanfiction sites, where the two best friends end up together happily ever after, they weren't real. The happy endings at the end of childrens stories weren't real. They're fiction. They're just made up stories by people who want to escape the truth for people who want to escape as well. The reality was that those dramas end in disaster. And he didn't want to be without her. He knew that now more than ever.

He forcefully convinced himself. He didn't like Naminé that way. He repeated it over and over in his head. The unsure thought, the thought which made him think that he might like Naminé, was pushed out of his head. If their friendhip was to last, he couldn't like her.

Not sure whether he had made himself feel better or worse, he ran toward the school courtyard, where Naminé, his friend, _only_ a friend, was waiting for him.

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A/N: Told you guys he start to change his thinking in this chapter . Don't worry guys, he'll break out of his shell sooner or later, probably after a few chapters. Anyway, plz review!


	6. A Crush?

A/N: Don't really have much to say. From the hits I'm getting, it looks like only a few people actually read the story. Most of the hits only reach the first chapter. Well, this is depressing. I'm acting a bit like Roxas, hehe. Oh well, I'll keep writing this story for those few people who read this, and for me as well of course.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts

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A Crush?

Roxas was lying on his bed, trying his best not to think about Naminé. But he was finding it very hard not to. Ever since that small thought strayed into his mind, he was diverting most of his conscious thought to convincing himself that he only saw Naminé as a friend. He needed a distraction, any distraction...

"Hey, Roxas." Sora had just entered their bedroom.

_"Thank you!" _Just in time. The biggest distraction he could ever hope for.

"Hey, Sora. What's up?"

"Nothing much...," he answered gloomily.

Roxas sat up. The last time he heard Sora's voice in that tone was when he thought Kairi's family was moving away. "Okay, now I know something is wrong. Spill."

Sora looked at him for a second then stared at the floor. "I took your advice."

"My advice? What advice?"

"That I should tell Kairi how I feel..."

"Are you serious?! You actually did that?!" Roxas practically yelled. He remembered saying that; it seemed so long ago.

"Don't tell me you we're joking when you said that!" Sora yelled back, rage showing on his face.

"No, I really did mean it as good advice. It's just it's hard to believe that you actually _did_ it." Roxas knew better than anyone that Sora had problems expressing his softer side, the side that's completely head over heels for Kairi.

"Well, yeah, whatever," Sora said, settling back down.

"So what happened?"

"She said...that if I had only told her that a few days earlier, she would have said she liked me back too."

"Huh? What does that mean?"

"It means that she liked me before, but when Riku asked her to the prom, she isn't sure who she likes now."

"Wait, Riku asked her to the prom?"

"Yes, already!" Sora yelled, letting out a huge sigh. He dropped himself on his bed, laying facedown. It looked like he was trying to suffocate himself.

Roxas had never seen him so troubled. An unhappy Sora just felt so wrong. But he wouldn't be able to talk to Kairi or Riku about it, and he wasn't exactly experienced enough to be able to give advice in this situation. So there was only one thing he could do, the most obvious action...

----------

"Naminé!"

Roxas was at school, and as soon as he had walked through the school gates, he began searching for Naminé immediately. He found her talking with Demyx, who was hitting on Naminé. As Roxas approached them, he unconciously let out a low growl, just enough for Demyx to hear.

"Uhm, Naminé? I'm gonna go now." And with that, Demyx scampered off. Roxas smirked, a feeling of satisfaction flooding inside him. Regaining his senses, he suppresed the feeling. He reminded himself that he only saw Naminé as a friend, therefore, he didn't care who flirted with her. Not unless the guy is a complete and total ass, like Seifer.

"Hey Roxas," she greeted. "You needed something?"

"Oh, right! I need advice."

"You? Advice?" she asked with raised eyebrows. Roxas couldn't help but smile. Naminé knew him too well. He never asked for advice. He was always too stubborn and he always tried to solve his problems on his own.

"It's for a friend. You see, my friend likes this girl, who used to like him back but when a guy asked her to the prom..."

"Are you talking about Sora, Kairi, and Riku?"

"How'd you know?"

"No offense Roxas, but you don't have a lot of friends who would tell you about their problems," she smirked. "So, I deduced that Sora was the friend you were talking about. Pretty good, huh?" Roxas raised his eyebrows at her. "Okay, okay. Kairi told me," she admitted.

"Whatever," he smirked. "So, what do you think Sora should do?"

"Well, Riku hasn't exactly told her that he likes her, but I think it's pretty obvious," she said. "And Kairi's been a mess lately, this has really been getting to her. I guess the only thing he can do is talk to her, to try and help her through it, no matter how it turns out."

"Heh. You always know what to do, don't you?" He smiled at her, and when she smiled back at him, a feeling that was both wanted and unwanted spread through him. Fortunately, the bell rang before the emotion started affecting his actions. He bade her goodbye and rushed off to Algebra.

He was a bit surprised to see Olette in his class. He had very few classes with her, and Algebra wasn't one of them.

"Hey Roxas," she greeted.

"Hey Olette. Not to sound rude or anything, but why are you here?"

"I switched schedules," she answered, waving a sheet in the air. "Not really sure why I had to though."

"Really? Let me see..." He took the schedule from her hands and took a look at it. It was weird, but he and Olette had the exact same schedule for that day.

"Looks like I'm going to see a lot of you today."

----------

It was finally the last period, biology. He really didn't like his teacher. It was one of the few precious classes he had with Naminé and this teacher had to assign seating arrangements, which resulted in him and Naminé being seated in opposite ends of the classroom. According to the teacher, it was to prevent any troublemakers from being close to each other. He sighed, and put his head on his desk. Biology would be over much faster if he slept through it.

"Roxas!" Olette hissed from his right. "Wake up!"

Roxas smirked. "You know I don't listen to what people tell me."

She rolled her eyes. "That doesn't mean you should sleep through class. Besides," she smirked. "I know someone you always listen to..." She glanced at Naminé.

Roxas felt his cheeks color, so he put his head to the desk again, hoping to hide it. "But biology is really boring..."

"No, it's not!" she said indignantly. "It's really interesting, and if I have to poke you throughout the class, I will."

And she really did. Whenever Roxas even looked like resting his head, a sharp poke would immediately come from Olette. She would smirk, and Roxas would roll his eyes. But he couldn't help but smile. He found it silly how serious Olette was when it came to school. He really pitied Hayner and Pence...

The bell finally rang and Roxas stood up immediately and went over to Naminé, Olette following behind him.

"Hi Roxas, Olette," she greeted.

"Naminé, please get her away from me," he joked. "You have no idea how much hell biology was for me today. I actually had to listen because of her!" he finished, pointing an accusing finger at Olette.

"You should be thanking me," she answered back, sticking out her tounge.

"Right, like I'll do that."

"Naminé," she said, exasperated. "Please tell your best friend how important biology really is."

But Naminé semed a bit distracted. She was staring blankly into open space.

"Naminé?" Roxas asked, waving a hand in her face.

"Oh! Sorry Roxas," she said, snapping out of her daydream.

"Are you okay?" he asked, concern showing on his face.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered dismissively. "Let's go."

----------

Roxas was at home, sitting in front of the computer. He didn't have any homework, none that was urgent anyway, so he was passing the free time he had by surfing the net. He stopped at a certain webpage, one that he had been going to since it was put online. Naminé's blog. He wondered if she knew that he went to it frequently. It's been quite a few years since it was put up, and Roxas never commented on the posts. Roxas saw that a new post had just been added, so he read on:

_"I don't feel so well today. School went on as usual today, but something had been bothering me. One of my friends was flirting with my crush (or should I say ex-crush) today. It's really getting to me."_

Roxas shut the computer off. It was such a short post, but the blow it had on him would have been enough to knock him through a brick wall. He knew it. Naminé already had somebody she liked. He couldn't understand why he felt so depressed. He only saw Naminé as a friend, so why should he be bothered? In fact, he should be happy for her, ask her who this guy was and help her get together with him. The thought felt so bitter in his mind.

One thing he was sure of though. He had to find out who this crush was. Though it might be an ex-crush, he really had to know who the bastard was.

_"Let's see,"_ Roxas thought. _"Who are Naminé's girl friends, the one's she's really close to. Kairi. But no, it couldn't be her. Kairi isn't a flirt. Selphie. Nah, it can't be her either. She's with that Irving guy right now. Olette. I was with her the whole day, and I didn't see her flirt with anyone. Besides, she told me before she liked Hayner. Who else..."_

"Roxas!" Sora rushed into the room, interrupting his thoughts.

"Not now, Sora," he said dismissively. "I'm busy." But Sora didn't even pay attention to him.

"I heard from Selphie that Olette was flirting with you throughout biology," he smirked

"What?!" Roxas stood up. He couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"I had no idea she liked you," he continued, the smirk still on his face. "Should I be the one to tell her you like Naminé, or will you do it yourself?"

"Sora! Out! NOW!" Roxas didn't even give him a chance to do it himself. He grabbed Sora by his shirt, threw him out the room, and locked the door.

A muffled voice came through the door. "Ow! Hey, this is my room too!"

Roxas ignored the voice. How could anyone think that Olette was flirting with him. All she was doing was poking him to stay awake. How could Selphie have even known?

Something suddenly clicked inside Roxas' head. Olette is Naminé's friend. Naminé's friend was flirting with her crush. Olette _appeared_ to be flirting with Roxas. He mixed up the words in his head.

_"Does this mean that I'm Naminé's crush?"_

An emotion unknown to Roxas suddenly swept through him. Naminé _liked _him! He couldn't believe it! He thought that it was impossible for Naminé to think of him that way.

But he finally regained his senses. He didn't even have proof that Olette was that friend of hers. And if Olette wasn't that person, then Roxas wasn't Naminé's crush. Another thing was that Naminé was the one who told him about her blog. If Roxas was her crush, she wouldn't have put anything about it on her blog knowing that he goes there.

And there was one thing that should have shut him down right away. Naminé had written _ex_-crush. Which meant that even if Olette was the person she talked about, and Roxas was Naminé's crush, she didn't feel that way about him anymore.

Roxas honestly didn't know what to do, but his habit was kicking in again. How could he even think that he was ever Naminé's crush? She has a lot of friends, anyone of which could have been flirting with a boy, and any of those boys could be her crush. What are the chances it could be him...

His head was starting to hurt, so he turned to his 100 percent sure to work solution: sleep. He unlocked the door so that Sora could come in again, and right after, he dropped himself into his bed. He heard Sora pestering him to wake up, but the comfort of sleep was already grabbing hold of him, taking him away from his thoughts.

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A/N: Pretty long chapter for me. Actually, it was supposed to be longer, but I felt that if I had added more, I would be cramming in too much. The part that I removed will be put in the next chapter, so it will be kind of short. Anyway, plz review!


	7. The Game

A/N: Okay, here's chapter 7. This is a really important chapter in the story. Why? Read and see.

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The Game

Roxas was at the school courtyard with the gang. He decided in the end not to talk to Naminé about what she had written on her blog. He didn't know why, but he was scared to know who it was. Plus it was Naminé's business, he didn't want to butt in.

Olette, on the other hand, had chased Selphie around school the second she heard about the rumor that she was flirting with Roxas. It seemed like she had decided to hang out with only Hayner and Pence now, to prevent more rumors like the previous one from appearing.

Roxas was looking toward the sky, getting lost in his own world. Naminé had been pretty quiet recently. It really looks like she was bothered by the whole 'ex-crush' thing. He tried to think of what a best friend should do at a time like this when he saw someone putting up something on the bulletin board. He got up and looked at what had been posted.

"Hey Rox, wat'cha lookin' at?" Sora called.

"Hey guys, what's a cotillion?"

"Huh? A cotillion?" Kairi asked. "Why are you asking?"

"It says over here," he answered, jabbing a thumb at the peice of paper.

"Let me see." She pushed past Roxas and read the lengthly message.

"It looks like there's going to be a cotillion at the prom," she said, turning back to them.

"Okay, but what is a cotillion?" Roxas asked again.

"It's a dance. A _partnered_ dance. It says here that a cotillion is going to be performed at the prom and those who are interested should sign up with their partners for rehearsals."

Roxas was about to comment when the bell rang. They immediately gathered their things and went to their own classes. Roxas walked alone in the hallway, his hands laced behind his head. _"A dance, huh..."_ An image of Naminé suddenly popped up in his mind. He pushed it out immediately and went to class. Hopefully, the teacher's lecture would bore him to sleep.

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Roxas was walking out of his last class when he saw Hayner and Pence.

"Roxas!" Hayner immediately ran over and put Roxas in a headlock.

"Agh! Hayner!" It was a playful headlock, so he guessed either he hadn't heard the rumor that Olette was flirting with him, he didn't believe it, or Olette told him not to believe it. Hayner would have beaten him up otherwise.

"So, who are you going to ask to be your cotillion partner?"

"Why would I ask anyone? I don't dance." But an image of him, dancing with a certain blonde, appeared in his mind.

"But still, don't you want to go to the prom with anyone?" Pence asked, as he tried to get Hayner off Roxas. "It's a lot easier to ask someone to be your partner that to be your date. Then, it would be even easier to ask that girl to be your date," he reasoned.

"I don't want to go with anyone," Roxas said. But his mind was betraying him once again. For some reason, he felt like he was lying.

"Hey guys!" The three of them looked up to see Kairi, Naminé, Selphie and Olette.

_"Oh, no. They're in girl formation." _Roxas knew he had to sneak away somehow before something happened, but Hayner still had him in a headlock.

"Hi girls," Hayner greeted. "You needed something?"

"Yeah, we were wondering if you guys had partners for the cotillion," Olette said. "I still don't have a partner you see."

Roxas spirit fell. So Naminé already had a partner. Even though he knew he wasn't going to ask Naminé to be his partner, he couldn't help but feel that he had lost something. A chance? Whatever it was, he had to get out of there now, before how he felt started showing. He tried to push Hayner off and said, "Hayner will be your partner."

Hayner immediately let go and Roxas saw blood rush to his face. He glared at him, but when Olette answered with an approving smile, he changed his expression into a thankful one. Roxas, seeing this as his chance to escape, grabbed his skateboard and mounted it.

"Wait, Roxas!" Kairi called. "Don't you have a partner?"

Roxas had finally had enough. How much did he have to go through before they would let him go?

"I don't want to be part of the stupid dance!" he yelled. He saw their shocked faces, but he was too angry to care. He sped off without a second glance.

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Roxas was sitting at the station's clocktower again. He had went straight for it as soon as he had left the others after blowing up at them. He felt that he had to sort through his confused thoughts. Now that he had cooled off a bit, he was able to think clearly now.

Why did he feel so angry? Was it because he knew Naminé liked someone? Was it because he wasn't that someone? Was it because someone had asked her to be their partner? Was it because he felt that the person had beaten him to her?

His head hurt. He didn't understand how he felt anymore. But he knew the only way to understand everything was to remove all his preconceived thoughts that Naminé could never like him. He slowly started to open his thoughts...

"Hey, Roxas."

Roxas almost fell off the clocktower in surprise. When he turned around, he saw Naminé standing behind him, two sea-salt ice cream bars in her hands. She handed him one of the treats and sat next to him.

"Naminé? What are you doing here?"

"Why? Don't you want me to be here?" she asked, a playful pout forming on her face.

"No, it's not that. I mean, how do you even know about this place?"

"I followed you. It was pretty hard since you were on your skateboard, so I had to grab Sora's," she answered, holding up a black skateboard. "I didn't realize how hard it would be to ride it."

Roxas smiled. "I'll teach you sometime. So why did you follow me?"

"Well, I am your best friend right? I needed to find out why you were acting strangely. Well, more than usual, I mean."

Roxas just had to laugh. It was so comforting to know that Naminé was at least able to tell something was wrong.

"So," she continued. "what is it with you and the cotillion?"

He felt his cheeks color, and he tried to hide it by licking the ice cream in his hand. "It's nothing," he lied.

"Are you sure? It's the first time I've seen you lose your temper like that."

"Yeah, I'm sure. It's just that Hayner was bugging me about it before you guys came, that's why I reacted that way."

"Oh, okay."

Silence settled in between them. Roxas couldn't bear it. He had to ask.

"So who's your partner?"

She looked a bit surprised by the question. Probably because Roxas never usually asked about things like that. "Pence," she answered shortly.

"Oh..." Why didn't Pence say anything about it earlier?

"Actually," she mumbled, a bit of red flowing to her cheeks. "I was going to ask you."

_"What?"_ Roxas felt his cheels flush an even deeper red.

"You were going to ask me?"

"Yeah. But after I saw the way you reacted, I thought you didn't want any part in the cotillion. So I asked Pence instead."

Roxas mentally kicked himself. If he only hadn't lost his temper earlier. Roxas felt a bit lightheaded, his face hot, so he tried to regain his senses.

"Well, I'm flattered you would consider asking me," he teased.

"Sh-shut up. Don't get full of yourself."

He laughed at her flustered response. _"Well, this is the perfect time to bring up that topic."_

"So, erm, Naminé?" he said. "Does that mean that Pence is your date for the prom?"

"No, of course not! He's just my partner for the cotillion. Why?" she asked, eyeing him. "Do you have a date for the prom?"

"No. I decided to go without a date," he answered. "It's a lot less complicated that way."

"You mean you don't have anyone you want to ask?"

"No, I did have someone I wanted to ask," he said truthfully. "But..." He hesitated.

"What is it?" He shouldn't have looked at her. He knew he wouldn't be able to resist her if he looked at her. The second he saw her concerned eyes, his defenses fell.

"If I did ask that person, I'm afraid that person would think that I like her more than a friend," he explained. It was sort of the truth. Roxas couldn't lie to Naminé so he did the next best thing, tone it down a bit and mix it up.

"But you could ask that person to the prom as friend right?"

"But still, she might think the same way since I asked her out of all my other friends."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I guess that's why I didn't want to ask that one guy to the prom."

"You wanted to ask someone?" A familiar feeling started to rise inside Roxas.

"Why? Is it weird for a girl to ask the guy?"

"No, it's not that," he smiled, even though it didn't feel real. "You never told me you wanted to ask someone."

"Oh yeah. I never mentioned it did I?" she said, a shy smile appearing on her face. "Well, you never metioned to me that you wanted to ask someone, so there."

He smiled at her childishness. "Okay, then. We're even." He paused before he asked, "So who is he? The guy you wanted to ask?"

"I'm not going to tell you!" she said, her cheeks coloring to a bright red.

"Aww, c'mon Nami!" he pleaded. "You know I won't tell anyone."

"Sorry, Roxas," she smirked. "I'm not gonna tell. At least not until you tell me who you were going to ask."

It was Roxas' turn to flush red. "Okay, fine. You don't have to tell me." Knowing who Naminé wanted to go with was not worth telling her he wanted to go with her.

"Is it Olette?" Roxas turned to see her looking to the distance, as if she didn't want to look at him eye to eye.

"Of course it's not," he smiled. "Why would I volunteer Hayner to be her partner if I did?"

"I don't know. But you two _did_ look like you were having fun that time in biology..." There was a strange expression on her face that Roxas couldn't identify.

"Nah, she was just plain annoying that day. I don't know how anyone could think she was flirting with me." He didn't know why he had said that last part. Did he really think that it was him Naminé was talking about on her blog and that he was trying to convince her it was what it seemed?

"O-oh, ri-right." She gave a weak smile, as though relieved.

They sat in silence for a while. An idea suddenly formed in Roxas' head.

"Hey Naminé."

"Yeah?"

"You wanna play a game?" he asked, a smile forming on his lips.

"What game?" She had her head tilted to one side, showing her confusion.

"I'm going to try and figure out who you were going to ask to the prom, and you're going to try and figure out who I was going to ask. We check each other's guesses in a week. What do you say?" He held out a hand, waiting for her approval.

"Hmm..." She fondled her chin in thought. Then, a confident smirk appeared on her face as she shook hands with Roxas.

"You're on."

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A/N: Didn't expect it would get this long. Sorry if the dialogue seems to drag on a bit, I don't really know how to write it properly, and I have trouble doing vivid descriptions. Anyway, plz review!


	8. A Nudge in the Right Direction

A/N: I've really got nothing to do, so I've decided to update. Actually, I do have something to do, but I'd rather update, hehe. Plus, my 'co-author' wants me to update as well. Anyway, I'd like to thank all those that have reviewed, especially those who review regularly. But enough about that, it's on with the story..

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts

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A Nudge in the Right Direction

Roxas was lying on his bed, his hands covering his eyes. He was trying to think of a way to figure out who Naminé wanted to go to the prom with. Actually, there was one very obvious solution, but he definitely did not want to do that because the consequence would be so great it might destroy him. Okay, maybe he was overreacting, but still, there was no way he was going to do that.

He heard the door bang open along with Sora's shouting voice. "Hey Rox, wh-"

Roxas lazily pointed to the black skateboard in the corner of the room.

"Oh, okay." He walked over and sat down on his bed. "What are you doing?"

"Just thinking."

"Of what? Or is it 'of who'?" Sora asked. Roxas still had his eyes covered but he could already see Sora's smirk.

"Shut up, Sora. Don't make me use your weakness."

"You mean Kairi? Actually, that's not a problem anymore."

Roxas peeked from under his fingers to see Sora grinning brightly. "Why? What happened?" he asked, sitting up.

"I was talking to Kairi earlier today and that topic came up. The time when I told her that I liked her. She told me that she had been thinking about how she felt, and now, she said that she's sure that she likes me back."

"Really?" He couldn't help but grin at his twin's good fortune. "So are you going with her to the prom?"

"Weeeell, no. She said she promised to go with Riku and I can't do anything about that. Plus, we talked about it together with Riku, and I trust him. He won't do anything against what Kairi decided."

"Right. At least your not moping anymore."

"Have you asked Naminé yet?" he asked, the smirk returning to his face.

"Sora, when have I ever given you the idea that I was _ever_ going to ask Naminé?"

"You never said you weren't gonna ask her."

"I've had enough. I'm going to sleep." Having said that, he turned his back to his twin and pulled the covers over him.

"Hey! Roxas! Damn, there he goes again..."

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Six days of the week time limit were up and Roxas had only been able to hit dead ends in his search for the guy Naminé wanted to go to the prom with. He was nearing the end of his patience. He thought it would be easy, but it turns out that Naminé had interacted with so many boys, any of which could be the mystery guy.

He sighed. It really looked like he would have to resort to 'that'. He couldn't believe he was about to do this. He pulled out his cellphone and sent a text message saying: _"Meet me behind the library after school today, and you better be alone."_

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The final bell had finally rung, and as soon as Roxas heard it, he flew out of his seat and ran toward the library. When he got there, he found that she was already waiting for him. Kairi.

"Hi, Roxas," she greeted. "What's this about?"

"Alright, but before I ask what I'm gonna ask, I'm going to say beforehand that it's not what you think."

"Okaaay," she answered, a smirk spreading across her face. "I think I know what this is about. But please, go on ahead."

Roxas took in a deep breath. "Do you know who Naminé was going to ask to the prom?"

If possible, the smirk on her face grew even wider. "Why so interested Roxas?"

A vein throbbed on Roxas' temple. "I thought I just said it's not what you think?"

"I never said what I thought," she stated calmly, raising her hands as if she was proving her innocence. "I'm just asking why you're interested."

"Okay, I guess. Naminé and I are playing a game."

"A game?" Kairi asked.

"Yeah," Roxas nodded. "We're trying to guess who each other was going to ask to the prom. That's why I'm asking if you know who Naminé wanted to go with."

"Well, I really do know but Naminé is my best friend and..."

Roxas didn't exactly catch the rest. He thought he heard foosteps and he didn't want anyone overhearing their conversation. Once he was sure that no one was anywhere near them, he turned back to Kairi, who was still talking.

"So, do we have a deal?" she asked.

"Huh?"

"Weren't you listening? I'm going to tell it to you if you tell me who _you_ wanted to ask," she said.

Roxas immediately flushed a deep red. He really wanted to know who Naminé wanted to go with but was telling Kairi worth it? Roxas wanted to know not just for the game, but maybe he can talk this guy into taking her to the prom. The thought felt strangely bitter, but he was sure Naminé would be glad he did it.

"Alright," he answered. "But you've got to swear you won't tell anyone, no matter how much you're tortured, especially if Naminé is the one asking."

"Okay, I won't _tell_ anyone," she smirked.

"And you won't use any form of commnication or contact whatsoever as a substitute for talking," Roxas added.

"Damn, caught me. Okay, okay, I swear I won't tell anyone, or use any other form of communication or contact, no matter how much I'm tortured, especially if Naminé is the one asking," she said, raising her right hand.

"Alright then." He took in a deep breath. This was really hard for him. But hopefully, Kairi won't break her word. "I wanted to ask Naminé," he mumbled. "But only as a friend!" he added quickly.

But despite what he had added, an ear piercing squeal resonated through the air. Roxas covered his ears to prevent any damage and to avoid loss of hearing. When Kairi was finally done, he removed his head from his hands and glared at the girl.

"Geez, Kairi. I think my ear is bleeding..."

"Don't be a baby," she teased. "Oh my god! I just knew you wanted to ask her!

"Whatever!" he shouted. He couldn't let Kairi keep going or else she wouldn't stop. "So now tell me what you know."

"Well, she told me that to guys have already asked her to the prom."

Two guys have already asked her to the prom? Well, she never mentioned that, but he wasn't exactly so surprised. He was supposed to be her best friend, how come he didn't know about this stuff? Maybe it had something to do with him being a guy...

"I'm not sure who they were, I didn't recognize them, but she answered with a flat out 'no' before even thinking it over five seconds! I mean-"

"Hang on a sec," he interrupted. "I was asking who Naminé wanted to go with. Not who wanted to go with her."

"Weren't you listening to what I was saying earlier? I changed the deal. I was going to tell you who had asked her in exchange for who you were going to ask."

"What?!" Roxas shouted. When had that happened? When he thought he heard someone? "B-but..."

"No buts," she said firmly. "We made a deal, and I've held up my end."

Roxas sighed. It wasn't fair. He didn't pay attention for ten seconds and he messes up aquiring the most valuable information he could ever hope to hold in his adolescent years. Okay, maybe that was exaggerating a bit, but still...

"Hey, Roxas," she called. "Let me give you a piece of advice: Just ask her already."

"But she's waiting for some guy to ask her. A guy who she really wants to go with," Roxas reasoned. Even thinking about it made Roxas feel sour inside. "I mean, she even thought of asking the guy herself."

"Is that the reason you won't ask her?" she asked. There was a strange look on her face, like she was trying to contain her laughter. "Well then, you really don't have to worry about that then because that guy won't ever ask Naminé."

"What?! What kind of guy wouldn't want to ask her?!" he yelled. "I mean, she's sweet, and funny, and pretty, and..." Roxas stopped himself. Kairi's face looked like it was about to crack judging from how wide her smirk was spread across her face.

"Well, yeah, that," he finished, his face glowing a bright red. Something clicked inside Roxas' head. Kairi said that the guy Naminé wanted to go with wouldn't ask her, ever. Which meant...that Roxas wasn't the one she wanted to go with. Despite knowing that he couldn't be the one Naminé wanted to go with, his spirits fell. Maybe a small part of him had been hoping he would be the one...

"Whatever. But really, promise me you'll just ask her," she repeated. She's asking him to promise, which was a very big thing for Roxas. Roxas always kept his word. Always. Especially if he had given it to another person. It was both his weakness and his strength. Actually, Sora had the same tendency. Maybe it was in the family...

"Why do you want me to ask her so much?"

"Just do it. Promise already," she answered impatiently.

"Alright. I'll ask her, I...promise."

"Good," she smiled, satisfied now that he was bound by his word. "I've gotta meet Sora so I'll see you around, 'kay?" And with that, he left him alone.

Roxas put a hand to his face. He was smiling. Why? He was forced to promise to ask Naminé to the prom after all. But maybe that's why he felt so happy. He was going to ask Naminé to the prom! But he also felt fear inside him. What if she turned him down? After all, he wasn't the one she wanted to go to the prom with...

----------

Roxas and Naminé were sitting on top of the station's clocktower again. Time was up and they were about to check each other's guesses.

"Hey, Naminé?"

"Yeah?"

"We never did agree on what would be the reward of the winner or the consequence of the loser," he said.

"Oh yeah. I guess we were more concerned in figuring out who the other wanted to go with," she laughed.

"I've got an idea. How about the loser asks the person he or she wants to go with?" Roxas had said this on purpose. He had planned it out. Well, sort of. This was in case he lost. It would be much easier to ask her if it was part of the deal. If he won, well, he would have to do it the hard way.

"No way! There's no way I'm going to agree to that," she answered.

"How come?"

"I just don't want to, okay?" she said calmly. Roxas understood and nodded. He didn't exactly feel so confident about asking that question either.

"Why did you think of that anyway?" she asked.

"I kinda promised Kairi I would ask the girl to the prom," he answered.

"Yeah, Kairi told me about that," she said. "I can't believe you asked her about who I wanted to go with!"

"What's wrong? She's the best choice I had."

"She even told me that you told her who you wanted to go with in exchange for knowing who had already asked me." Roxas eyes widened as he heard this. She didn't! "Don't worry though, she absolutely refused to tell me what you told her. She said something about you making her swear not to tell anyone even if she was tortured or something like that..." Roxas relaxed. Kairi can be dependable sometimes.

"Anyway, let's get started. Loser buys lunch tomorrow?" Naminé asked.

"Sure," Roxas grinned.

They started guessing and Roxas, unfortunately, was doing poorly. He had absolutely no leads in finding who Naminé wanted to go to the prom with and was now randomly guessing from each of the guys she had interacted with.

"Are you serious Roxas?" she asked. "Why in the world would I want to go to the prom with Seifer?! You of all people know how much of an ass he is."

Roxas grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. "I'm at the bottom of the barrel. I don't know any other guy you know."

"Well, I'm out as well. I've named every girl you know," she stated. "Except one."

He looked to her and found that she was suddenly serious. She was looking off to the distance when she spoke. "This is my last guess." She took in a deep breath. "Is it me?"

Roxas felt his face color and looked out into the distance as well. He did not want to see Naminé's face when he answered. "Yeah, you got it. I was going to ask you, as friends I mean, but I knew you had somone in mind who you wanted to go with. You know the rest..."

"Looks like I win." Roxas glanced at her and saw that she was smiling softly. "Do want to know who I wanted to go with?" she asked.

"No, it's okay," he answered, still not looking at her. "I don't need to know." He stopped caring a while back, maybe when he was sure it wasn't him.

"But I think you have to know," she insisted.

He sucked in another deep breath. "Okay, who is it?"

"You."

Roxas turned to see her still smiling sweetly, a bit of red coloring her cheeks lightly. "Me?"

"Yes, you."

"B-but Kairi said that the guy you wanted to go with would never ask you!"

"Well, maybe it's because the guy I wanted to go with hasn't asked me yet."

Roxas smiled, feeling suddenly emboldned. "You know what I promised Kairi right?" She nodded, smiling expectantly.

He took in another deep breath. "Do you want to be my date for the prom Naminé?"

She smiled even more brightly. "Yes, of course I will," she anwered.

They both smiled at each other and sat side by side, watching the sunset from the clocktower. They simply sat for a long time, appreciating each other's presence, not feeling the need to say a word.

"Just remember Roxas, you owe me lunch tomorrow."

Roxas laughed and nodded, and went back to admiring the view along with Naminé.

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A/N: Whew, I've been working on this the whole afternoon. I think it turned out nicely, what about you guys? Plz tell me about it in your review!


	9. Deciding Touch

A/N: Right then. Need to write this to clear my head. Again. Oh well, doubt you guys are complaining right? Anyway, here's the next chapter.

Discalimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts

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Deciding Touch

Roxas was sitting by the window in his room, looking out at nothing in particular. He just sat there, his mind lost, daydreaming, viewing past events in his mind.

_"Yes, of course I will._"

That one line kept on replaying inside his head, over and over, along with Naminé's sweet smile which was on her face as she said it. He sighed dreamily. Sora, who had just entered the room, raised an eyebrow at him. He had never heard Roxas sigh dreamiliy ever before. Roxas saw Sora pull out his cellphone, but payed him no attention as he proceeded to watch the scene when he had asked Naminé to the prom for the millionth time.

"Yes! I knew it!"

Sora's yell had brought Roxas back to the present. He glared at his twin for ruining his blissful moment, but Sora ignored him and sprinted out the door.

"Mooom! Roxas has a date for the prom!" he yelled childishly.

Roxas' eyes widened with shock as he heard his twin yell those words. He quickly scrambled away from the window and chased Sora. As soon as he caught up with him, he lunged at him and tackled him to the ground, covering his loud, blabbering mouth. If Aerith ever found out that-

"What's the ruckus about?"

Roxas paled as he heard the voice but he sighed in relief to see that it was only his father, Cloud. He at least had some respect to his children's privacy, unlike-

"I heard yelling. What happened?"

Roxas groaned. Just when he thought he was in the clear, his mother, carrying a basket of laundry had to show up. Sora, finally seeing his objective, licked the hand that was covering mouth. As soon as the hand retreated in digust, he said once more in a sing-song voice, "Roxas has a date for the prom."

The reaction was mixed. Cloud simply raised an eyebrow, a reaction fitting of him. Aerith, however, dropped the basket she was holding, scattering dirty laundry all over the floor. She finally decided to let go of the maturity the years have given her and let out a girlish squeal. Roxas and his father winced at the volume.

"Oh my god! Roxas, get off your brother." Reluctantly, he obeyed. "Now, Sora, tell me. Who is it?"

"Mom!"

"Roxas, please," she dismissed. "I'm your mother, this is my job. Go on, Sora."

"Dad, a little help?" he pleaded.

"Sorry, I can't do anything against your mom when she's like this."

Roxas watched his fate unfold as Sora and his mother talked. He placed a hand on his forehead. The vein on his temple was throbbing, giving him a really painful headache.

"Naminé...she's that blonde girl right? Kairi's best friend?" Aerith asked. The gang mostly hung out at school, so their parents had only seen their friends a few times.

"Sora, how did you even find out that I asked her?" Roxas interrupted.

"Easy," he grinned. "I texted Kairi to ask Naminé if anything happened. After all, it's not everyday you act like a lovesick doofus."

"All right, Sora. Let me talk to Roxas," Aerith said.

"Aww, but mom, I wanna hear this!" Sora whined.

"Let's go, Sora," Cloud said. He dragged Sora away by the collar of his shirt. He seemed to be quite glad to have an excuse to leave the scene.

Roxas and his mother stood in awkward silence. Aerith was the first to break it. "Soooo, Naminé huh?"

Roxas couldn't help but flush a little red. "Yeah."

"Do you like her?" she asked. Straightforward, wasn't she?

Roxas couldn't answered immediately. He still hadn't gotten around to figuring that out. So far, he had only discarded the idea that Naminé could never like him. He accepts the fact that Naminé could get him to do things that he would never do for anyone else, and that he felt things around her that he had never experienced before. But he wasn't sure if that was enough to say that he liked her. Maybe it's just because she's his best friend.

"I asked her to the prom as a friend," he fianlly responded.

"That still doesn't answer my question," she replied, a smirk appearing on her face.

"Mom, do we really have to go through this?" He just didn't understand yet. So how could he answer her question?

"Alright, I think I understand," she smiled. "I'll bother you about it another time."

She finally left him alone. Roxas ruffled his spiky hair. He really didn't know. Did he really like Naminé that way?

----------

Roxas was getting ready for school along with Sora. It was already getting quite cold, seeing that it was already November. He pulled on an extra jacket and Sora pulled on his gloves. Roxas grinned as he watched Sora. He didn't have any gloves of his own. He never needed them. For some reason, his hands never got cold, at least, never cold enough to be a problem. It was like his hands had an extra heat source.

They got to school only just in time. At least Roxas had Creative Writing with Naminé during first period. He smiled at her in greeting as he sat down beside her at the back of the class. Their teacher stood up. She was one of the favorite teachers, she was always close to her students, especially the girls and liked to keep with the younger generation . She wrote on the board, in big bold letters, the word 'romance'.

"For the next few classes," their teacher spoke. "we will be concentrating on writing romance. But before we actually begin writing, I need to ask if you kids actually know what romance is. So, who among you have or have had a boyfriend or girlfriend?"

A few hands went up in the air, some shyly, others boldly and other still, proudly. She smiled at those who raised their hands and called a few to speak about their relationship.

"Alright, now, who among you already have dates for the prom?"

Roxas nearly fell out of his chair when he heard the question. Was that really any of her business? Well, sure, he only cares now that he's affected, but seriously, why does she have to know?

He reluctantly raised his hand. He wasn't embarrassed, no, in fact he was proud that he was taking Naminé to the prom. But just because he was proud about it didn't mean he was going to advertise it to the world. He glanced at Naminé and was glad to see she was also raising her hand. Shyly, but still, she had raised it.

He heard a few gasps and saw a few startled looks as people started to notice that he was raising his hand. It seemed that people didn't realize that he would, or _could _for that matter, ask someone to the prom. It was thought throughout the school that he was emo, so it wouldn't be a surprise to them if he went alone. Although most of them knew that he hung out with Naminé, it looked like they actually believed him when he said that they were only friends.

His teacher smirked when she saw his hand, and called on him. "So, Roxas. You have a date for the prom."

"Yeah, I guess I do," he shrugged, trying to be indifferent about it but couldn't stop a little red from coloring his cheeks.

"And your date is?"

He hesitated. "Naminé," he finally mumbled.

She suppressed a giggle and continued. "Roxas, please tell the class your pick-up line."

"Pick-up line?" That sounded so wrong, especially since she was implying that Roxas actually used those kind of things.

"How did you ask her?" she rephrased.

"Can I ask what this has to do with creative writing?"

"It will help us familiarize with romantic scenarios." It sounded made up to Roxas. "Just go on."

"I just asked her. Did I need a special way of doing it?"

"Well, I'm sure Naminé would have appreciated it more if you did something special. Oh well, I guess that's enough. You may sit down Roxas."

Roxas was only too happy to comply. Why was the world putting him in these situations? Maybe the world wanted an answer, an answer to if he really did like Naminé. Well, the world wasn't the only one who wanted an answer. Roxas wanted it too.

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Roxas was sitting once more at the station's clocktower again, a sea-salt ice cream in his hand. He knows he must be crazy to eat ice cream at that time of the year but it just seemed right. Besides, he wasn't that cold. It seems like he's been going to the clocktower a lot recently. Then again, it's only been recently that he's had a lot to think about.

When did he first think of the idea that he liked Naminé? Sometime after that time he had decided to put some space between them. When things went back to normal, generally at least, he began to notice things about her, more than usual. He glared at whoever flirted with her and found himself being a bit more attached to her.

Why had he disregarded that thought? Because he didn't believe that Naminé could like him, so before he could even think his feelings through, believing it would save their friendship, he shut it off. But if he hadn't done that, what conclusion would he have reached? Would he come to think that he really did like Naminé?

How is a person even supposed to tell if he likes a person more than a friend? He doubt anyone could explain love to him. It affects people in different ways so there isn't a bottom line when it comes to figuring out whether or not a person is in love. Naminé is his best friend, and since he didn't really have a best friend before her, he can't even compare if he's doing more for her than he would for just a best friend.

Roxas ruffled his hair in frustration and continued to finish his ice cream. What was the point of his going to his special spot if he can't figure anything out?

"Are you crazy Roxas? It's freezing right now, how can you be eating ice cream?"

Roxas turned and saw Naminé. He wasn't exactly surprised to see her. He knew that she would figure out sooner or later that he had come here. But he had hoped that he would have figured out his feelings toward her by the time she came.

"Don't lecture me Naminé," he smirked.

"Okay, okay. I'm just saying."

She sat down next to him and gazed into the distance. "How come you're here anyway? Is there something wrong?"

Roxas shook his head. "Not really. It's just that there's a lot of stuff to think about."

"Hmm, okay I guess..."

She shivered and hugged herself, trying to bring some warmth to her body. Roxas looked at her. She looked really cold, she was only wearing long-sleeved shirt and pants after all. He pulled of his jacket and placed it over her shoulders.

"Roxas! Don't! You'll catch a cold!" she argued.

"And you'll catch a cold if I don't," he replied with a smile. "And I'm not the one who gets worried being late to school by just five minutes. I'd honestly welcome a cold. I need a break from school," he joked.

She smiled and put up no further arguments. But it seemed his jacket wasn't enough. She still shivered, and rubbed her hands together, blowing warm breath into her cupped hands, trying to fight the cold. Roxas looked at his hands. It was weird how they always felt warm, but he never complained before. But because of that, he had no gloves to give Naminé. He wouldn't be able to help her warm her hands.

Roxas suddenly did something he hadn't expected himself to do. He was surprised that he actually did it. He reached over and cupped Naminé's hands between his, sharing the warmth of his hands with her. Naminé looked surprised, but she didn't pull away and let Roxas share his warm hands.

Her hands were soft, and her touch seemed to send electricity through his whole body. It was a feeling Roxas couldn't describe. He remembered, when he was a child, he always yearned for a touch from people. Even when he was already seven, people could still see him hanging on to his mother's hand. When he finally outgrew it, he became more reserved, quiet, unlike before when he was always hyper and cheerful. The only person who was able to break him out of his shell was Naminé.

He couldn't understand why he liked holding other people's hands before, but now he understood. It felt like an affirmation that he was real to that person he was touching. When he didn't need that affirmation anymore, he stopped holding hands, and he grew silent, less social.

This feeling that he got from a simple touch from Naminé, it was stronger than anything he had ever felt before, and Roxas understood why. It was because the person Roxas wanted to feel real around was Naminé. He wanted her to be the one to affirm that he was real, that he was truly somebody, because it would mean the most to him coming from her, and it meant everything to him to know that he was somebody to her. Because if he had to choose one person, he would only be real to her. Even if the whole world couldn't see him, it would be alright as long as she could.

And Roxas finally knew, he liked Naminé so much more than a friend.

He finally withdrew his hands from her, blushing a bit. "Sorry," he mumbled.

"No, I should thank you," she smiled, a little red tinting her cheeks as well. "But weren't my hands cold?"

Roxas looked at his hands. He had hardly noticed that Naminé's hands were actually cold, because the only thing he could really feel was the warm feeling holding her hands gave him.

"No," Roxas smiled, shaking his head. "At least not in the way you think."

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A/N: Sorry if you think this chapter was pointless. This chapter was pretty much to affirm his feelings. In the previous chapters, he had only acted like he liked Naminé, but didn't actually admit it, so I felt like I had to put this in. Anyway, plz review!


	10. Christmas Presents

A/N: Nothing much to say here. This chapter isn't that crucial to the story, but I'm putting it anyway. It just feels like it should be there.

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts

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Christmas Presents

It was the middle of the night, and Roxas was sitting on the windowsill, one of his legs dangling outside. He couldn't sleep. He had barely gotten any sleep since his realization that he liked Naminé. Most of the day and night, he was haunted by her a vision of her beautiful figure, her voice and laughter ringing in his ears. Then again, he wasn't exactly complaining about his condition. If it was visions of Naminé that was keeping him up, he really didn't mind.

Things really hadn't changed since the last time at the clocktower. He was glad that knowing how he felt about her didn't at all change how he acted around Naminé. He was still the same, only now he better understood himself about why he acted a certain way around her.

He looked to the horizon and saw an orange glow begin to color the sky. Another sleepless night. At least Christmas break had already started, so he didn't have to worry about teachers pestering him to keep awake. But he had promised Sora that they would go shopping for Christmas presents that day, since the day was only a few weeks away.

The Sora and Roxas had a unique way of spending Christmas with the gang. They didn't buy gifts for Christmas but instead, they simply went out as a treat to the gang. Last year, they went to the beach. Sora and Roxas took care of everything, transportation, and food as well. It felt a lot more special than just giving a gift.

But now, Sora wanted to get something special for Kairi, since they were now sort of a couple. Roxas wondered why he wanted him to come along. Maybe so he wouldn't feel so lost. The poor guy hasn't shopped for a present on his own his whole life.

Roxas thought if he should get Naminé something. Now that he realized his feelings toward her, he felt that he should. He accepted his feelings, and he wasn't one to just sit by idly, wallowing in self pity as he did nothing to express his true feelings. Then again, he wasn't just gonna come out and say that he liked her right away either. He knew that he had to tell her, but not just yet.

_"Maybe I will get her a present," _he thought.

He scanned the room, seeing Sora still sprawled on his bed. It would still be a while till he actually gets up. He got up from the windowsill and headed downstairs. Not surprisingly, he found Cloud at the table, sipping coffee as he read the morning paper. Roxas really took after his father, he got most of his traits from him, like being an early riser as well as a light sleeper. Sora took after Aerith more, being incredibly childish, playful and nosy.

"G'morning dad," he greeted.

"Morning Roxas. Didn't get much sleep last night?"

"No." Roxas thought. He didn't have much more experience than Sora when it came to buying gifts, he just had more brains as to which was better suited for the occasion. He wanted to get Naminé a great gift, so he needed all the help he could get.

"Dad?"

"Mmm?"

"Erm," He could hardly believe he was doing this. "When you and mom were still dating, what kind of gifts did you get her?"

"Why Roxas? Planning on getting a special something for a special someone?" a voice asked.

Roxas turned and groaned. Aerith was coming down the stairs, and apparently, she had waited at the top of the staircase just to catch what he was going to say.

"Well Roxas?" she asked, waiting.

Roxas looked away and crossed his arms, trying to look as indifferent as he could. "I was asking for Sora," he lied.

"Nice try," she smirked. "Sora already asked me a few days ago. So?"

"Alright," he sighed. "Yes, I'm planning on getting a girl a gift."

Aerith smiled. "Well, for you, I think your best choice is a stuffed toy. I think you'll be able to decide for yourself what stuffed toy to buy."

"Erm, okay, thanks mom." He didn't think Aerith could be so agreeable on this subject.

"Well, let's leave it at that shall we? I think Sora's already up and getting ready to go." Roxas nodded and headed upstairs.

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"Sora, please! You've been staring at that stuffed dog for an hour!" Roxas complained.

"I can't decide!" Sora retorted. "The green one looks better than pink on the dog but pink is Kairi's favorite color."

"Just pick one already," Roxas pleaded.

"Okay, okay. Well, which one do you think I should buy?"

"The green one," Roxas answered, glad that they were finally making some progress.

"Okay." He reached forward to pick up the green stuffed dog but just before taking it, he pulled his hand back. "But...pink is Kairi's favorite color."

The vein on Roxas' temple was throbbing again. He was thinking along the lines of making himself an only child when he saw Hayner and Olette passing the store they were in. He left Sora to ponder on his unsolvable problem as he stepped outside the store.

"Hi Hayner, Olette," he greeted. He wondered why he felt like he shouldn't have greeted them.

"Roxas!" Hayner ran over and put him in a headlock. _"Oh, so that's why..."_

"Hayner, let him go," Olette commanded. Hayner, of course, obeyed.

"So, what brings you here Roxas?" she asked. "I don't think I've ever seen you go shopping willingly."

"I'm not here willingly," Roxas said. "Sora forced me to come with him since he wants to get something special for Kairi."

"Right," Hayner laughed. "So you're not here to buy anything?"

"Well, I-"

"Olette, hang on a sec," Hayner said. "I need to talk to Roxas for awhile. Don't worry, I won't run off."

Olette nodded and walked off. Hayner slung an arm around Roxas and asked in a low tone. "You planning on getting Naminé something?"

"Erm, yeah," Roxas answered, a small blush creeping up to his face.

"Well, I overheard her talking to Olette about wanting anything that has Eeyore on it."

"Eeyore?" Roxas asked skeptically. He wasn't sure whether he should trust Hayner on something like this.

"Hey, I'm just saying what I heard your girlfriend say." He continued, ignoring Roxas' protests about the girlfriend comment. "So, can you help me get out of shopping? Olette's been dragging me around the whole morning."

"Okay, you sneak away while I distract Olette."

Hayner started to creep away toward the exit. It looked like he would've made it if it weren't for one thing. Roxas yelled, "Olette, Hayner's trying to make a break for it!"

As soon as Olette heard it, she sprinted toward Hayner. Who would've thought that Olette could be such a fast runner? Hayner was just about to run when Olette finally caught up with him and tackled him to the ground. The guards looked like they were about to step in but one look at Olette's face made them back off.

Olette finally emerged from the scruffle victorious and dragged a very disguntled Hayner by the ear. She walked back toward Roxas. "Thanks for your help, Roxas. I owe you one."

"And you owe me two!" Hayner yelled. "I tell you what you want to know and this is what you do?!"

"Yes," he smirked. "Especially after that girlfriend comment."

Olette proceeded to drag Hayner off around the mall as Roxas walked back into the store. Sora was still tangled in his web of thoughts, trying to decide between pink or green. He walked around the store until he finally found what he was looking for. An Eeyore stuffed toy. Roxas smiled. Naminé really did have a thing for cute things and he had to admit, the plushie did look very huggable.

He picked it up from the shelf and looked at the price tag. He groaned at what he saw. He had never spent this much before on a present. This added to the gang's outing would completely empty his wallet. As he looked at the item, a vision of Naminé smiling as she hugged the plushie entered his mind, allowing him to completely forget about the price. He walked over to the counter and payed for it, but he couldn't help but think he was missing something...

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Sora was finally done shopping. After buying the stuffed dog, he dragged Roxas around the mall and bought even more stuff, and each stuff just had to make Sora decide, meaning that it was hours before they got to the point to where they were right now. Needless to say, they, or Sora to be more precise, had spent the whole day shopping.

They were about to leave, walking through the mall toward the exit, when a person caught Roxas' eye.

"Mom?" Roxas called. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, hello boys. I just wanted to check out that new store over there," she said, pointing. "It kinda caught my interest."

Roxas looked to where his mother was pointing,_ "This is it."_

"Erm, mom?" This was gonna kill him. "Can I, uh, come with you?"

She smirked. "Great idea, Roxas. I'm sure Naminé will love it."

Roxas sighed. This was going to be torture. But hopefully, he'll find what he's looking for.

----------

It was around six in the morning when Roxas had finally finished. He had made a bracelet from green threads and had placed Naminé's name on it as well. He tied it to Eeyore's leg and admired his work. The thing that he was missing. A personal touch. Just buying a gift for Naminé didn't seem enough. He felt that he had to do more than just spend, that he should work for it as well. Naminé was just special that way.

Sora's alarm sounded at around eight. Roxas couldn't understand why his twin even bothered with an alarm. He never woke up to it. Heck, the only one it woke up was Roxas. Maybe that was his intention.

He walked over to Sora and kicked him out of his bed. "Huh? Wuz 'appenin?"

"Get up, Sora. We're going out with the gang today, remember?" They had decied to go because apparently, everyone else was leaving town for Christmas. Naminé was actually going to leave in a couple of days and wouldn't be back until just before school started.

"Oh, right. Let me get ready," he mumbled, as he crawled back into bed. Roxas sighed and kicked him out of bed once more. Why couldn't he have been an only child?

----------

They were waiting at the town square for everyone else to come. Roxas really was the only one of them who came on time, it was just really bad luck that Sora lived in the same house as him, having to suffer the curse of always waking up early.

Riku finally came, then Kairi and Naminé. For some reason, Naminé had a backpack with her. Roxas raised an eyebrow at her.

"Naminé?"

"Yeah?"

"What's with the backpack?"

She smiled. "You'll find out later."

----------

The gang had spent the whole day out. They went wherever feet and the trains could take them. They went to the mall, the sandlot (the boys participated in the struggle match), the movies, Sunset Hill, anywhere they could think of.

"Hey guys," Kairi said. "I need to get going."

"Okay, Sora will walk you home," Riku smirked, shoving Sora in her direction. "I guess I better go too."

The gang broke was about to break off when Naminé stopped them.

"Hang on, don't you guys want your presents?" she asked, pulling a wrapped package out of her backpack. She threw one each to Sora, Kairi and Riku.

"What about Roxas' present?" Sora smirked.

"Maybe it's not one you can put in a box," Kairi guessed, a smirk on her face as well.

"Guys!"

"We better leave these two alone," Riku suggested. They finally left, leaving Roxas and Naminé red in the face from both anger and embarrassment.

They sat in silence, watching the sun set in the horizon.

"So," Roxas said, breaking the silence. "_Is_ it something you can't put in a box?"

She rolled her eyes. "Very funny, Roxas." She pulled out another gift from her backpack. "Here, Merry Christmas."

"Thank you." It was pretty big, at least for him. The presents he usually got were cds or skateboard stuff. He started to fumble with wrapping, trying to open it.

"No!" Naminé shouted. Roxas raised an eyebrow at her. "I mean, wait until you get home before you open it. I'm not really sure if you'll like it. Do you know how hard it is to buy a present for you?"

"I can imagine," he laughed. Well, since Naminé had already given him his present, he supposed he should give hers. It made things a lot easier. Roxas was thinking about asking her to come to the station's clocktower alone to give her present, but it might be awkward.

"Hey Naminé, come with me to my house."

"Huh? Why?" she asked, tilting her head to one side.

"Because I have your present there," he smiled.

She blushed a light red. "A present? But you don't buy presents for Christmas."

"Well, now I do," he smirked. "C'mon."

He led her by the hand through the crowded streets of Twilight Town. He blushed a bit from their contact, but he didn't let go. He liked the feeling holding her hand gave him and he was glad that Naminé wasn't pulling away.

They finally made it to his house. Roxas was about to invite her in when he remembered something. His mom is Aerith.

"Erm, Naminé? I'm really sorry but can I ask you to wait out here?"

She spared him a look of confusion before nodding. Roxas smiled in relief. Who knows what would happen if Aerith saw Naminé. He rushed inside, up the stairs and into his room. He had to find something to wrap the present in, fast. But he was surprised to see a neatly wrapped box on his bed. He walked over to it and pulled off the note that was attached to it.

_"Roxas, _

_I thought you might want this wrapped already so I did it for you. _

_Love, Mom. _

_P.S. I think you did a great job with the bracelet."_

Roxas smiled. Sometimes, he was really glad that his mother was the way she was. He placed Naminé's present on his bed and grabbed his present to her. He rushed back outside to where Naminé was waiting for him.

"Here," he smiled, pushing the present into her hands. "Merry Christmas."

"Thank you, Roxas." She took a look at the card that was attached to the present. _"Damn, I forgot to write on the card,"_ he thought.

"'To someone special to me'," she read, her cheeks flushing red again.

_"What? I didn't...oh, mom." _

"Someone special, Roxas? Really?" she asked.

"Erm, yeah," he said, scratching the back of his head, blushing a bit. "Of course you are. You're really important to me Naminé." Aerith was putting him in situations that were forcing words out of him. But he supposed a result of that was his words being pure, how he really felt.

She smiled sweetly. "Um, I think I should get going. It's okay, you don't have to walk me home," she said, anticipating him. "Well, I'll see when I get back. I'll call you okay?" She waved goodbye and walked off, that sweet smile of her still on her face.

Roxas waved goodbye as well, watching her until she completely disappeared from his view. He entered his house with a smile on his face and found himself face to face with Aerith.

"Sooo, how did it go?" she asked.

"Great. Thanks mom." He rushed upstairs to see what Naminé had gotten him. He peeled the wrapping and couldn't help but smile at what he saw. A Tigger plushie. He placed it at the corner of his bed. It seemed like he was just waiting for something to fill that space on his bed.

----------

It was the middle of the night, and Roxas was once again fidgeting, trying to get some sleep. He groped around until he finally found what he was looking for. He pulled the plushie into his arms and immediately felt his body relax, drifting closer and closer to sleep. He smiled. It looked like his sleepless nights were over.

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A/N: Man, this is the longest time I've worked on a chapter. Sorry if I didn't elaborate on the outing. There really wan't much to tell and I thought I would bore if I tried to put something in there. Plz review!


	11. Recruiting an Ally

A/N: Right then, I felt like I just had to update. I'm actually starting to think you guys are so lucky with me updating whenever I feel off or when I have nothing to do, hehe. Anyway, enough of that, read on ahead!

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Recruiting an Ally

Roxas didn't want to get up the next morning. He was too relaxed to do so. It had been a long time since he had a peaceful sleep. He pulled the Tigger plushie even closer to his body, trying to get more comfortable, but when he heard a small click and a giggle, he opened one of his eyes.

He saw Aerith hovering over him, a wide smile spread across her face, almost like she had won the lottery, and in her hands was a camera...

Roxas immediately shot out of bed. Despite his sudden movement, he kept his firm grip on the plushie which was pulled close to him. "Mom! What are you doing?!"

"Roxas, you wouldn't believe how cute you looked in your sleep. Here, take a look." She pulled out a photograph of him hugging the plushie in his sleep, a content smile spread across his face. Roxas immediately flushed a deep red.

"Mom, please give me the photo," he pleaded.

"Okay." She immediately handed over the photograph, which made Roxas raise an eyebrow at her. "It's okay, I just know that from now on, you'll be hugging that plushie in your sleep, so I have plenty of opportunities to take more pictures."

"Mom!" She wasn't serious, was she?

"I'm kidding," she smiled. "Well, about the taking more pictures part. But I'll admit to have one photo hidden away. After all, it's not everyday I get to catch my little Roxie so happy on camera."

She smiled and walked off, leaving Roxas a glowing red. He sighed. He supposed he could let that one photo go. He knew his mother was just being sentimental. He took another look at the photo in his hand and smiled. He really did look happy. He tucked the picture away somewhere safe and neatly placed the Tigger plushie at the corner of his bed.

----------

It had already been a few days since Naminé left town, which resulted in Roxas being bored to death. It had only been a few days but he missed her terribly.

Right now, he was sitting at the dining table, his forehead on the counter. He was just so bored out of his mind that the counter could catch fire and he wouldn't notice. In the distance, he could hear the telephone ringing.

Aerith had answered the phone. "Hello? Yes, he's here. Well, generally. Please wait a moment. Roxas! Phone!"

His head shot up from the counter upon hearing his name said along with the word 'phone'. Nobody ever called him. He also rarely got text messages. He suddenly remembered what Naminé had said: _"I'll call you, okay?"_

Upon remembering this, he scrambled from the chair he was sitting on toward the phone. Aerith simply laughed at his actions. He pulled the phone to him and spoke. "Hello?"

"Hi Roxas." There was no mistaking that sweet voice. It was Naminé.

"Hi Naminé." A smile was already spreading across his face. "How are you doing?"

"Pretty good. Guess who's with me right now. I'll give you a hint: he's cute."

He? Cute? Roxas could feel his jaw tighten. She was with a guy she described as cute. He was already trying to think of ways to threaten the guy, maybe a punch or two but decided not to leave Naminé waiting. "Erm, your dad?" he guessed.

"No!" He could hear her laugh from the end of the phone line. "It's Eeyore of course."

"Oh." He sighed in relief. "Hehe, so you like your present?"

"Of course I do. You're the one who gave him to me after all." Roxas couldn't help but smile. "So what's been going on?" she asked.

----------

Days passed and Christmas break was almost over. It was a pretty boring one, probably because Naminé was out of town. He supposed the highlight of his vacation was that time he begged Aerith to give him the picture of him hugging the Tigger plushie in his sleep, and the time he wrestled Sora for the phone, but other than that, it was pretty boring.

Naminé had kept in touch with Roxas constantly. She called at least every three days and texted everyday. Roxas could have never believed that he could actually spend more than an hour on the phone, but he did, talking to Naminé about a variety of topics. Whenever Aerith saw him on the phone, she would simply smile knowingly at Roxas and walk away. He was glad that Kairi came back early from her trip, so Sora had stopped fighting him for the phone and went out to meet her in person.

But school was finally about to begin in a few days and Roxas would finally get to see Naminé again at last. Even though he loved hearing her voice over the phone, he preferred to be with her in person a lot more.

Meanwhile, Roxas was passing time on a site that he never thought he would go to, a site he kept on mocking and laughing at because he couldn't imagine himself actually going to it. A fanfiction site. If that wasn't enough to blow you out of your chair, there was more. He was looking at fics under romance.

The fact that that he was actually reading that kind of stuff made him feel wierd. He kept on looking over his shoulder making sure that no one would sneak up on him, his finger hovering over the reset button of the computer if anyone should get close.

He didn't understand why he suddenly felt like checking out those fics. He had never before in his life watched a drama on television or read a romance novel, but here he was, absorbed in romance fics.

He could at least honestly say that he found them 'interesting'. Some of them were cliché, others corny, but still, they were interesting to Roxas. Maybe because he could somehow relate now to those stories...

"Roxas."

Roxas jumped in surprise and immediately punched the reset button. He turned around and sighed in relief. It was only Cloud. If it had been Aerith or Sora, then things would get ugly.

"Was that a fanfiction site?" Cloud asked.

Roxas paled. It looked like despite his efforts, his father had managed to catch the site he was on.

"Right, never mind. I won't tell your mother or brother you were on a fanfiction site." Roxas smiled in gratitude but it was soon wiped off his face.

"Who was on a fanfiction site?" Aerith's head popped around the door. She looked at who was seated at the computer. "Roxas was on a fanfiction site?" Roxas groaned. His luck couldn't be this bad. Sure his favorite number was thirteen but still. Why did he have to suffer so?

"So why did you go to that site Roxas?" Aerith asked, a smirk now very familiar to Roxas appearing on her face. "I seem to recall you saying you would never be caught dead viewing those kind of things. Were you looking for ideas?"

Roxas glowed a bright red, but fortunately, Cloud took pity on him. "C'mon, Aerith. I think you've emabarrassed your son enough for today. I thought you said you wanted to go to that sale in the mall?"

"Alright. Enjoy your reading Roxas!" she smiled as she and Cloud left the room.

Roxas sighed in relief, fianally getting a bit of peace. Well, he supposed he should lay off the computer for a while. He was lucky that Cloud was there to break him out of that situation. But now what was he supposed to do?

He laid back on his bed and let his mind wander. He remembered what Aerith had said. Was he really looking for ideas? He really wanted to tell Naminé how he felt about her. Maybe he was unconsciously looking for ways to tell her through what he was reading.

He ruffled his hair in frustration. He didn't know how to handle himself in these kinds of situations. He definitely had no experience, and no one ever came to him telling about his/her love life. Well, maybe Sora, but he didn't exactly learn much from Sora.

Roxas sighed as he came to a realization. He needed help. There was no way he would be able to handle this on his own, let alone pulling off telling Naminé that he liked her. But to get help, he would have to tell whoever he was asking for help that he liked Naminé, an idea which wasn't very appealing to Roxas. Who could he ask for help? Definitely not Sora or Aerith. They'd tell everyone in town about it before they started to help him. Kairi? Maybe...

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard the doorbell ring, and knowing that no one else was home, he got up off his bed and headed for the front door. He pulled the door open and was surprised to see Kairi.

"Kairi? What are you doing here?" he asked, inviting her in.

"I wanted to surprise Sora," she smiled. "So where is he?"

"Well, the thing about surprises is the person you're going to surprise doesn't know that they're going to be surprised, therefore, making them unable to put or keep themselves in a position to be surprised."

"Huh?"

"Sora's not here. He's running an errand for mom," Roxas rephrased.

"Just great. Will he be back soon?" she asked.

"Yeah, don't worry. Have a seat," he said, pointing to the couch.

They sat in silence, Roxas on a stool opposite the couch Kairi was sitting on.

"So, how are you and Sora doing?" he asked, trying to bring some noise into the room.

"Okay," she answered. A smirk formed on her face. "How are you and Naminé doing?"

"Okay," he answered absentmindedly. When he finally caught on, he yelled, "Wait, what's that supposed to mean?!"

"Nothing," she answered calmly, raising her hands. "But from the way you reacted I'm thinking there's something going on."

He looked away, his face glowing a bright red. But then he turned back to look at Kairi, like it was the first time he's seen her in his life.

"What?" she asked, uncomfortable.

_"I guess she really is my best choice..."_

"Erm, Kairi? I kinda need some help..."

"Oh really?" A smirk was already forming on her face.

"Yeah," he nodded. "But before I tell you what it's about, I need you to swear not to tell anyone, or use any other form of communication about what I'm going to tell you."

"Okay, okay," she said, raising her right hand. "I know the drill. So out with it already."

Roxas took in a deep breath. "You remember what you asked me before? About what I thought about Naminé?"

"Yeah, I remember."

"Well, it changed." For some reason, it was getting harder for Roxas to talk.

"Really?" she asked, faking surprise. "Well then, let me ask you again. What do you think of Naminé?"

He couldn't believe he was doing this. It was a while before he could actually say it. His body was naturally fighting the idea of uttering those words. "I like her."

He knew Kairi knew what he was going to say, but the auburn haired girl seemed to go in a state of shock. She remained silent, her eyes wide with the information she had just received.

She finally regained her senses and let out an ear-shattering fangirl squeal. Roxas, anticipating this, immediately buried his head in his hands, protecting his sense of hearing. It took awhile before she was done. He didn't realize that Kairi could hold so much breath in her.

"Are you done?" Roxas asked.

"Pretty much," she said. "Well it sure took you awhile."

"What do you mean?"

"I kinda thought that you would realize that you liked her around the time you asked her to the prom," she explained.

"So you knew I liked her when I didn't know?" he asked skeptically.

"Yep. So what do you need help with?"

"Well, I don't know how to tell her."

Kairi's eyes widened in surprise. "Wait, you're planning to tell her?"

"Well, yeah. Unless you think I shouldn't. That makes things a lot easier."

"No, I mean - Are really Roxas?" she asked.

"What kind of question is that?"

"It's just that I never thought that you would actually think of telling her," she laughed.

"Whatever. So? I have no clue of what to do here."

She thought for a moment. She was about to answer when, due to Roxas' incredibly bad luck and Sora's uncanny capability to barge in at the worst possible times, Sora had to get back from his errand at that exact moment.

"Oh, hi Kairi!" he beamed.

It looked like she lost track of whatever she was about to say and got up to greet Sora. "Hi Sora! I wanted to surprise you but you were out."

"Sorry about that. You wanna go for a walk?" Sora asked. Kairi nodded in response.

They were about to step out when Roxas suddenly spoke up, unable to stop himself. "Sure, just leave me hanging. After all, it's just the most important thing that has ever happened to me that I could really mess up," he said, sarcasm laced heavily in his words.

"Oh sorry, Roxas," Kairi apologized, finally realizing that she had forgotten her conversation with Roxas. "I've got an idea but I still need to work it out. We'll talk some other time, okay?"

Roxas nodded in response. He could live with that. At least she said she was going to help. He watched her and Sora walk out the door, closing it behind them.

He went back upstairs to his room, and checked his surroundings, ensuring that he was completely alone in the house. Shrugging to himself, he figured that it would be awhile until anyone got home. So he swiched on the computer and went back to reading romance fics.

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A/N: The first part was pretty irrelevant but I just had to put it in. I love putting Roxas in those situations (kinda ironic for some reason). Plz review!


	12. The Right Gift

A/N: Sorry it took a while to update. School has been killing me, and since school was cancelled because of a storm a few days back, we're having school on Saturdays even. Well, enough excuses, here's chapter number 12!

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The Right Gift

The first day of school back from the holidays was already over. Students were flooding out the gates, grateful to be away from the place that had held them prisoner for most of the day. But two people had decided to stay behind, and were currently discussing something behind the school library.

"Roxas, why are you making me stay here? I kind of had plans for today," Kairi said irritably.

"Because you said you would help," Roxas answered with equal irritation. "Something I really need right now."

Roxas really felt he needed help, now more than ever. He was falling more and more for the blonde haired girl each moment he was with her. Just seeing her beautiful face for the first the first time since the holidays, he was overcome by a dizzying sensation, his heart beating faster and faster. He was glad that he was able to put a lid on those feelings, so that it wouldn't affect how he acted around her.

"Okay, okay. Well, when do you want to tell her?" she asked.

"I thought you were going to be the one to tell me that?"

Kairi rolled her eyes. "You said you've thought about this. Didn't you come up with anything?"

"No," he answered flatly. "C'mon Kairi," he whined. "I really need your help."

"Alright already! You want to ease yourself into a more comfortable position to tell her, right?" Roxas nodded.

"And you know her birthday is in a few weeks, right?" Roxas nodded once more. Of course he knew. He had already started thinking about what to get her.

"Then get her a gift that gives a hint about what you feel about her, but not enough to make her ask you about it," she said.

"You mean like a semi-romantic gift?"

"Yep. Actually, your Christmas present to her was like that. So just do something like that again." Roxas nodded to show his agreement to Kairi's idea.

"Which reminds me, how come you only bought a Christmas gift for Naminé?" she asked, eyebrows raised.

"Shh, quiet," Roxas said, raising his hand to silence her.

"You're not getting out that easy Roxas. I know you like Naminé but - "

"Shush, Kairi! Don't you hear that?"

Roxas could hear foosteps in the distance. It was still a ways off, and it seemed to be getting more distant. The person must just be passing by. His cellphone suddenly rang out loud and he heard the footsteps stop abruptly. He quickly pulled out the annoying device and silenced it. The foosteps were getting closer. He didn't know why he was so tense. They weren't doing anything wrong. He and Kairi were just having a casual conversation...in the dark shadows behind the library. Right.

A figure finally emerged from the corner.

"Roxas? Kairi? What are you two doing there?" It was Naminé.

"O-oh, hi Naminé," Roxas greeted. They had gotten way too close to Naminé overhearing their conversation. "We were, erm, just wondering what was back here, that's all. Right, Kairi?" She nodded her head.

Naminé raised an eyebrw at them. "Erm, okay. By the way Kairi, Sora was looking for you. He should still be at the courtyard." With a quick word of thanks to Naminé, Kairi left them.

"Really, what were you two doing here?" Naminé asked, arms folded.

Roxas scratched the back of his head. "Erm, c'mon Naminé! We better get going!" And with that, he ran off, Naminé chasing him.

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"C'mon, Roxas! I'm your best friend! Why won't you tell me what you two were talking about?" Naminé asked, a pout forming on her face.

They were walking through the park, their regular detour on the way home from school and Naminé was continually pestering him about what had happened earlier. She had managed to figure out that they were talking about something to do with Roxas, and not Kairi, by the way he avoided the questions she was throwing at him. She knew that if it was about Kairi, he would simply say that it wasn't his place to tell her. She just knew him too well.

"Because," Roxas explained, determined not to be swayed by Naminé's pout, "there are some things you can't tell to even your best friend."

"But you're talking to Kairi about something I don't even know about..." She seemed sad when she said this, and Roxas, being the sap romance fics have made him, tried to comfort her.

"Kairi only knows because she knew something about it before I even told her. It's not like I trust her more than you." At these words, Naminé's face brightened a bit.

"Does that mean you'll tell me?" she asked.

"Sorry Naminé, not right now." He couldn't. He wasn't ready yet. "But I promise that I'll tell you soon." Upon hearing him being bound by his word, she smiled. She knew Roxas wouldn't break his promise.

"Okay then, when is soon?"

"You want an actual date?" Roxas asked. She nodded in response. Roxas searched his thoughts. When would be the perfect time to tell her? A moment wih the perfect mood and atmosphere. Something that would make a person go 'aww'. _"Damn, those romance fics are really rubbing off on me..."_

"Alright, I'll tell you prom night," Roxas said.

"But Roxas, that's still a month away!" she whined, another pout forming on her face.

"Actually, I think it's pretty close. So consider yourself lucky by my standards," he smirked.

Naminé laughed. "Alright, then. Prom night, and you better tell me then."

They parted ways, waving goodbye to each other. Roxas watched her disappear from his view. He had just set a deadline for himself, and he couldn't move it now that he had made a promise to her. But maybe this was a good thing. Being bound by his word to tell her how he truly feels about her, making sure that he would actually do it.

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Roxas entered the front door of his house. He was about to go upstairs to his room when he saw something on the counter. He walked over and picked the item up. It was a charm bracelet. A butterfly pattern was placed between intervals of charms, glass gems and pearls. It looked quite pretty to Roxas.

"Do you like it?" a voice asked. He turned and saw Aerith standing behind him, smiling.

"Yeah," he answered truthfully. "Where did you get it?"

"I made it. You remember that shop we went to for Christmas? They were also selling materials for making charm bracelets. You can buy the stuff and make it any way you want."

"That same shop at the mall?" he asked. She nodded. "Thanks, mom! I'll be back later." He rushed out the front door and headed toward the mall, ignoring that knowing smile Aerith was giving him.

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Roxas could honestly say he was feeling very uncomfortable at the moment. He felt out of place being there. Everywhere he looked, all he could see were girls. He knew that making bracelets wasn't very popular among boys, but did he have to be the only boy in the entire shop? He shrugged off the feeling.

_"I'm getting a gift for Naminé,"_ he reminded himself. _"What's there to be ashamed of, being the only boy in the shop? I should just be thinking that I'm going to make Naminé an awesome and personal gift."_

He glanced through the shop's window, seeing the mass of teenagers walking through the mall. _"If anyone catches me here, I'm never gonna live it down."_

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On the eve of Naminé's birthday, Roxas was sitting at the windowsill, not feeling very sleepy. He glanced at the bracelet in his hand, illuminated by the full moon. He had slaved over that bracelet, and he was very pleased with his work. He had actually started working on it the night he had bought the materials, practicing looping the bracelet wire around the clasps, attaching the charms and working on a pattern. He had finished only a couple of nights ago, when he had deemed himself worthy of starting on a present for Naminé.

He looked over the details of the bracelet. The same butterfly figure used by Aerith was also used in this bracelet, patterned with four green glass gems, four pearls, and four charms: a pencil, a dog, a star and a clock. He was glad that there was such a wide selection of charms at the shop. A pencil for her artistic side, a dog because it was her favorite animal, and a star because she had a certain facination with them. He had been quite selfish with his reasons for picking the clock, because he was part of it. It represented the clocktower, where he and Naminé had shared some special moments.

Roxas decided he should try and get some sleep. He carefully laid the bracelet in a box Aerith had provided for him. He slipped into bed, instinctively reaching for the Tigger plushie and pulled it into his arms, waiting for sleep to come.

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Roxas and Naminé were walking home from school, taking their regular detour through the park. He had greeted Naminé with a cheery 'Happy Birthday' earlier that morning but had told her that her present would have to wait until later. And despite her whining and pouting, she had agreed to wait. Right now, they were dicussing a certain detail he had heard from Kairi.

"You really couldn't wait, could you?" Roxas teased.

"I'm really sorry," she apologized. "I just couldn't resist asking Kairi what you guys were talking about. I know you promised to tell me, but it felt o far off I couldn't stop myself." Actually, Roxas had heard more than that from Kairi. Apparently, Naminé had also asked her if he liked anyone, but he decided not to bring that up, not wanting to embarrass Naminé further. But still, he had to admit he was curious about Naminé's reasons for asking.

Roxas laughed. "Lighten up Naminé. I was just teasing. And I know how you can't help yourself when there's something you don't know."

She smiled sheepishly. "Okay, I promise I won't ask about it anymore until you tell me." Roxas smiled. She didn't have to promise, he trusted her, but he was glad that she was taking not knowing quite well.

"If you answer my question that is," she smirked. He had to laugh. He should have known she wouldn't back down so easily.

"What is it about?" she asked. "Just the general idea."

Roxas blushed a slight shade of red. How could he put it in words that wouldn't give too much away?

"Erm, it's about a person..."

She rolled her eyes. "Care to be more specific?"

He sighed. He supposed it would be alright to tell her quite a bit more. "A girl...who I like."

"Oh..." She eyed his flushed face for a moment and smiled. "Okay, I guess that'll do for me." She held out her hand, which Roxas raised an eyebrow at.

"My present," she stated simply. Roxas laughed, knowing that Naminé couldn't resist asking for it now. After all, she had waited the whole day. He pulled the small box out of his bag and placed into her outstretched hand. "Happy Birthday, Naminé," he greeted once more.

The top of the box was made of clear plastic, so she immediately saw the charm bracelet he had made for her. He saw her features soften as she gazed at it.

"You...made this?" she asked. Roxas smiled and nodded.

His mind suddenly went blank. Naminé had suddenly rushed forward and hugged Roxas, completely wiping out his conscious thought. She wrapped her arms around him, and he unconsciously did the same, embracing her slim frame. If simply holding her hand felt like electricity surging through him, imagine what her hug was doing to him.

They broke their embrace, both quite red in the face, but both smiling.

"Thank you, Roxas. I love it," she said, the sweet smile which always melted Roxas' insides on her face.

"You're welcome," he smiled.

They reluctantly parted ways. He watched her run off, clutching tightly to her chest her present. He went his own way, smiling brightly. At least until he remembered something. He mentally kicked himself at his stupidity. He knew that he wouldn't be able to do anything about it, at least not until he saw Naminé again. He just hoped the bracelet would fit Naminé's wrist.

----------

A/N: Again, sorry it took a while to update. So, now you know where this fic is gonna end. It's only a few chapters away, so keep an eye out for it. Plz review!


	13. Valentine

A/N: Sorry about the late update. School has been killing me, as well as my ideas for writing. Anyway, I've made you guys wait long enough, go on ahead!

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts

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Valentine

Roxas was lying in bed, wide awake. His brain was replaying the moment Naminé had hugged him, how they had gently wrapped their arms around each other. There were no words to express how her hug had made him feel. He was still in a daze, which Sora noticed when he walked into the room. Sora smiled, guessing what had happened. Surprisingly, he decided to be mature for once in his life, and once again left the room.

----------

A few weeks had passed, and Roxas was walking through the school grounds, looking for a certain blonde. Instead, he found Kairi, Selphie, and Olette at the school courtyard. He waved at them as he approached. When they finally noticed him coming, they suddenly huddled together quickly, whispered something to each other and approached him. For some reason, the sight of all the girls approaching him made him feel uncomfortable, like he should be vey afraid. _"No, wait, it's them. I should be afraid."_

Unfortunately, just before he could retreat from the girls, they had already surrounded him. Roxas felt like a can of tuna waiting to be opened in front of hungry cats. "Erm, hi..."

"Hi Roxas," Selphie greeted. "How are you doing today?" Before he could even reply, Olette interjected.

"We're sure you're doing very well. After all, who wouldn't be on this fine day? The _flowers_ are so pretty today."

Roxas raised an eyebrow at her. "Flowers? Olette, it's February. There aren't any flowers out."

"Right, Roxas," Kairi said. "It's _February_." Roxas looked at the auburn-headed girl with confusion. Was she trying to say something?

Kairi sighed. "Roxas, what's your favorite number?"

"Thirteen. Why?"

"Well, don't you think it goes so well with February? _Especially if you add one to it?_" Olette emphasized. He was seriously starting to suspect that they were trying to tell him something.

Roxas crossed his arms and thought. _"February, thirteen plus one..."_

He opened his eyes. Why had he only noticed that the school was decorated in hearts?

----------

It wasn't fair. That was the thought that kept on going through Roxas head as he sat in class. Sure he knew that Valentine's Day was a few weeks after Naminé's birthday. Sure he checked the calendar every now and then, seeing the big number fourteen encircled with a red marker. But how was he supposed to be prepared for it, especially now that it's a few days away? Before, Valentine's Day was just another day to him. It was only now that it could ever mean something to him.

As he tapped his pen on the desk, he gazed out the window. He supposd the question was if he was going to get Naminé something for Valentine's Day. If he had gotten her something, it would be like telling her outright that he liked her. He had decided to tell her on the prom night, which was only a few days away from Valentine's Day. Why would he tell her before the date he decided he would be ready to tell her? It was like getting up before your alarm clock went off. Roxas wanted to take as much time as he wanted before he told Naminé how he felt about her.

He sighed as he knocked his head onto his desk. But then again, he really wanted to do something for Naminé. He wanted to show her how important she was to him. But how was he supposed to do that without telling her how he felt?

----------

It was after class, and Roxas was about to head to the library where he had arranged to meet with Kairi.

"Roxas!"

He turned and saw Naminé waving at him. He smiled, for he saw on her waving wrist the bracelet that he had given her for her birthday. Everytime he saw her wearing it, he felt happiness flood through him, blocking out any other emotion.

"Hi Naminé," he greeted.

"You ready to go home?"

"Well, actually, I still have something to do here," he said, giving her an apologetic smile.

She smirked. "Does it have anything to do with the _back_ of the library?"

Roxas couldn't help but chuckle a bit. "Maybe."

"Okay. I have to leave now, so I'll go on ahead. Say hi to Kairi for me." And with that, she turned and left.

Roxas walked around to the back of the school library where he saw Kairi already waiting for him.

"First off," he said. "What was with this morning? Couldn't you have just said outright that it was Valentine's Day in a few days?"

"We could have, but we didn't want to interfere directly."

Roxas scoffed. "Please, Kairi. The only thing that would stop you from interfering is if someone threatened you."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever. So I'm guessing you still don't have anything for her."

"I'm still deciding if I'm going to get her something."

"Wait, you're considering _not_ giving her a gift?"

"Of course I'm considering not giving her a gift! Do you know what that would say?"

"That you like her?"

"Exactly!" he practically yelled. "And I don't think I'm ready yet," he finished.

Silence settled in for awhile, an unsure look on Kairi's face. "So...you don't want to get her a gift?"

Roxas thought a moment before he answered. "My heart," he said, putting a hand to his chest, "says I want to do something special for her, to show how important she is to me. That, I truly know."

He clenched his hand into a fist and continued. "But I'm also afraid, just like I know I'll be afraid when I'm about to tell her that I like her. Afraid that I might destroy a friendship I'm perfectly happy with despite wanting something more. But I know that I owe her my true feelings, and that I would feel incomplete to not even try."

Kairi grinned. "Oh, come on, Roxas. You make it sound like telling Naminé your feelings is the end of your life. I doubt Naminé would destroy her friendship with you just because you admitted how you feel about her."

"I honestly pray that things turn out for the best. But I've already decided, and what's more I've even promised. I'm going to tell Naminé that I like her, and whatever comes after that, is up to her."

Kairi smiled proudly. "I never thought I would ever hear you say something so sweet and corny," she teased.

Roxas blushed a light red. _"It's the fanfics I've been reading, it's been turning me into a sap,"_ he thought.

"Shut up. Let's just say that Naminé puts that stuff in my head."

"Alright," she laughed. "About Valentine's Day, I think I know a way you can get her something without showing the painfully obvious truth that you like her."

His face brightened in interest. "Really?"

"Yep," she nodded. "You know how people can leave stuff at the school office for students to pick up?" Roxas nodded. "Well, all you have to do is leave something there for her anonymously. You get her something special, and she doesn't have any reason to suspect your feelings for her. Then, during prom night, you can use it to help tell her how you feel."

"But what if the receptionist describes the person who left it there for her?" he asked.

"Don't worry, that person is a friend of mine. Just give me what you're going to give her and I can leave some instructions for her. On Valentine's Day, I'll take Naminé there with me pretending to look for something left for me, and that's when she'll get her Valentine's gift."

Roxas crossed his arms and thought for a moment. "Okay, I think that might work."

"Great," she smiled. "I'll go talk to my friend now so I can set things up." She left in a hurry, smiling at the part she had in the events. Roxas stayed a moment and gazed up into the azure sky. Would he really go through with it?

----------

A few days passed and Roxas still hadn't gotten anything for Naminé, despite the fact that it was already the afternoon before Valentine's. He was still afraid of showing how he felt by getting her something, so that whenever he tried to go out to get something, all he ended up doing was go around in circles through the mall and plaza.

As he walked home after parting ways with Naminé, Roxas remembered his conversation with Kairi earlier that day.

_"Hi Roxas! What did you get for Naminé?"_

_"Actually, I don't think I'm going to get her anything after all," he mumbled._

_"What?! How come?"_

_"The same reason I told you before: I'm scared. Besides, it's not like she's expecting anything from me."_

_Kairi seemed to falter, but managed to argue back. "But I've set everything up already! What are you afraid of? You're anonymous! And you just have to stay that way for a few days until prom night!"_

_Roxas sighed. "Even so, I'm still scared. I just don't know..."_

Roxas mimicked his memory as he sighed. He was still scared. But if he really wanted to do something special for Naminé, he should be able to fight his fears and do it, as well as handle the possible consequences of his actions.

Roxas ruffled his hair in frustration. "Argh, whatever!" he shouted. "Let's get this over with!" He dropped his sketeboard to the ground and sped off toward the plaza.

----------

A bell chimed as Roxas entered one of the stores. He immeditely walked to where the greeting cards were placed. The whole shelf was filled with heart covered cards, saying 'I love you', 'Be mine', and many other corny lines, which Roxas, of course, did not pick. He scanned the shelf for a fitting card when he finally found one. It said: "To my special someone". Perfect. Not too corny, and the message wasn't too powerful either.

He reached forward to take it but faltered, and lowered his hand once more. He looked over his shoulder, seeing that there was no one around. Why was he so uneasy? The card was right there, all he had to do was get it and pay for it. Why did he feel like the whole world was watching him? All he was doing was going to buy a card. Even if it was a Valentine card, a lot of teenagers have probably bought some recently, no big deal.

He kept on staring at the card for what felt like an eternity. _"Argh, stop being a wimp!"_ he scolded himself. He finally reached forward and pulled the card from the shelf. _"Right, if anyone asks, I'm buying this because someone asked me to."_

----------

Roxas skated home, a dejected look on his face. He couldn't believe that all had managed to get was the stupid card. He had spent so much time staring at the card that when he left the shop, all the other stores were closed. This wasn't exactly what he had in mind for tomorrow.

He opened the front door of his house and entered, still holding the card in his hand. He had forgotten one very important detail...

"Roxas, what's that in your hand?" Aerith asked.

Roxas immediately recoiled, hiding the card behind his back. Aerith approached him steadily, like a predator approaching her prey.

"I-it's nothing, mom," he answered, slowly backing away from her. Unfortunately for him, he had backed himself into a corner.

"Oh, really?" A smirk was already spreading across her face. "Show me this 'nothing'."

"Really mom, it's nothing you wanna see," he tried to convince her. "Remember how you almost threw up when you saw Sora sneeze snot all over himself? It's kinda like that."

"Roxas, I'll ground you for two weeks if you don't show me what's behind your back," she threatened.

_"Hmm, be humiliated by mom or get grounded for two weeks,"_ he thought, weighing the two choices. _"Nope, not worth it. I'd rather get grounded."_

"That includes not being allowed to go to school events," she added with a smirk. "That includes the prom."

"But mom!"

"No buts." She extended an open hand. "Give it here."

Grudgingly, he handed her the card. He watched her contain her immaturity as she looked at it.

"A Valentine's card, huh?"

Roxas flushed a deep red. "Sora asked me to buy it," he lied.

Sora's voice suddenly boomed from the top of the stairs. "Mom," he yelled. "Where's that card I asked you to buy? You know, the one for tomorrow?"

"It's on your desk, honey," she yelled back. She turned back to Roxas, who had a disgruntled look on his face. "Care to try again?"

"Fine, I got it for someone," he admitted. "You know..."

She smiled, satisfied enough with the answer. "Is this all you have?"

"Well, all the stores were closed by the time I had gotten that," he explained.

"Alright, wait here," she ordered. She left him alone and went through the backdoor.

_"No way, is she-?"_

She walked back inside the house from the backyard carrying a delicate white rose in her hands. Roxas couldn't believe it. Aerith was a brilliant gardener, and she had grown some very impressive flowers, but she was always touchy when it came to picking some from her garden.

"Right then, I'll keep it in a vase for now," she smiled. "Then you can give it to her tomorrow." She left smiling and without another word, leaving a stunned Roxas behind.

----------

The lunch bell had rung, and students were already filling the halls, headed for the cafeteria. Students were meeting up with each other, especially the couples. Roxas allowed himself to be swept away by the current of students and made his way towad the cafeteria. Earlier that day, he had given Kairi the card and rose. After a little trouble of explaining a few things to Sora, who had seen him give the items to Kairi, the whole day went as any ordinary day would.

Roxas watched the dozens of couples holding hands, hugging, kissing. He blushed a bit as a few embarrassing thoughts entered his head. He looked around for Naminé and found her. With Kairi. Headed toward the school office.

Roxas paled. What was Kairi thinking?! She was supposed to wait until he had gone home before she brought her to the office! Naminé was bound to ask all her friends who they thought had given her the card and rose and Roxas wasn't exactly very good lying to her.

Roxas walked with an even quicker pace toward the cafeteria. He had to surround himself with guys. Hopefully, the sight of his company wound deter Naminé a bit. He scanned the mass of students and found Hayner, Pence and Olette. He quickly walked over to them.

"Hey guys, mind if I join you? Thanks." He took a seat without waiting for an answer.

"Roxas? Are you okay?" Olette asked.

"Peachy," he answered with a weak voice.

"Hang on, guys. I'll be right back," Olette said. "I think I see Selphie about to burst about some new rumour." She stood up and left the cafeteria.

Sora and Riku had just came in and walked over. "Hey guys," Sora greeted, taking a seat. "What's up with you, Roxas?"

"I was just about to ask him that," Hayner said.

"It's nothing..."

"Doesn't sound like it," Riku stated.

At that moment Kairi, Olette, Selphie, and Naminé walked into the cafeteria, headed toward their table. Sure enough, in Naminé's hands was a card and a rose. Olette nudged Naminé forward and whispered, "Go on, ask him."

She shuffled her feet for a moment, a bit red in the face. "Erm, Roxas? Is this from you?"

Everyone looked at him as they waited patiently for his answer, making him very uncomfortable. He looked up and met her gaze. He took in a deep breath, keeping a straight face. "No, I didn't."

"Are you sure?" Why did she have to do that? It was hard enough for him to lie to her once.

"Yeah, not me."

"Then who's behind it?" Olette asked.

"Probably Seifer," Selphie answered. "C'mon, Naminé! Let's go ask him. I think I saw him hanging around the gym."

The girls left, leaving the boys alone. Roxas banged his head on the table. Lying to her was so hard to do. Why did they have to ask? Didn't they know that a person gives something anonymously with the idea of _staying_ anonymous?

"So, Roxas," Hayner said, calling his attention. "Did you?"

"Did I what?" he replied, not lifting his head from the table.

"Give Naminé the card and rose," Pence said.

"I repeat: No." It was so much easier to lie to the others.

Roxas sighed. He just needed to last a few more hours. He glanced at the clock. Those hours were going to last an eternity.

----------

He was right. Those hours did last an eternity. But that eternity was over and he was now walking home. Unfortunately, Naminé was walking home with him. Ordinarily, that would be a good thing for Roxas, but she was still pestering him with questions.

"Are you sure you're not the one who gave me these?" she asked, holding out the items.

"Yes," he answered shortly. His throat was getting tight from lying to her. He needed to get her to stop asking. According to Kairi, she, along with her, Selphie and Olette, had cornered over five boys and asked them if they were the one who had given her the card and rose.

"You see-"

"Naminé, why are you asking me repeatedly? You only asked the other boys once. Besides, would there be a difference if I was the one behind it?" He wasn't completely sure why he had asked the last part.

To his surprise, Naminé was silent for a moment, as if pondering her answer. She looked away, her cheeks flushed red. "Yes," she mumbled.

Roxas blushed a deep red, stunned by her answer. He thought the reason she was so interested was because she had gotten a Valentine's present. He thought she was more concerned about the gift itself, not who had given it. But apparently, he was wrong.

"So, are you the one who gave me these?" she asked once more.

He sighed. "Yes," he mumbled. He couldn't lie to her anymore. Not after what she had just answered.

_"This is it. Now she's going to ask why I got her something on Valentine's Day, and I'm gonna screw up because I'm not ready to tell her yet."_

"Thank you, Roxas," she smiled. "I really love the rose."

Roxas looked up and met her gaze, surprised. Wasn't she going to ask why he had gotten her something?

"Erm, you're welcome..."

"Well, I gotta go now," she smiled. Roxas looked at the surrounding area and realized that they were already at the spot where he and Naminé parted ways. "See you tomorrow." She waved goodbye and walked off, that sweet smile still on her face, her hands gently holding the rose, and the card safely in her bag.

Roxas smiled. He really didn't understand what had happened, but he supposed it couldn't have gone any better. He managed to give Naminé a gift for Valentine's and had gotten through without telling her outright that he liked her. In fact, he supposed that things went perfectly, despite it not going the way he had planned.

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A/N: Again, sorry about the late update. Not sure if I'll be able to update again soon, but I'll try. Besides, I want to make the next chapter the best since it's the last already. Plz review!


	14. Finalé and Beginning

A/N: I'm really, really, really sorry updating so late. it's been months hasn't it? Anyway, I've made you wait long enough so I'll explain myself later. Here's the last chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts (duh)

Finalé and Beginning

* * *

They were in the middle of the dance floor, Roxas and Naminé. She had her hands on his shoulders, his on her waist, both of them swaying slowly to the soft beat of the song. He tilted his head downward a bit, so that he was looking straight at her. 

"Naminé?" She raised her head, so that they gazed softly into each other's cerulean eyes.

"Yes, Roxas?"

"I've been meaning to tell you for some time now." He took in a deep breath. "I-"

----------

Roxas opened his eyes, pulling himself out of the imagination he had made of what could happen. He raised his head from his slumped position, his eyebrows furrowed in slight frustration. He couldn't do it. And he couldn't understand why.

Roxas laid back against his chair, lacing his hands behind his head. This was it. The prom was going to be that night. Which meant it was nearly time for the finale. Him telling Naminé his feelings for her. The mere thought was making him nervous.

He got up and sat on the windowsill, trying to calm himself by looking into the twilit sky. He had been trying to imagine the scenario, the words he would use, what they would be doing when it happens. He had done it quite a few times already. The scenario always came to him as them dancing. He supposed that would be the time when they would be closest to each other. But whenever the scenario came to the point of him about to say what he has to, everything freezes. He couldn't visualize the words he would say. He supposed it would be as simple as: "Naminé, I like you" but for some reason, he couldn't see himself saying it. He had to be prepared, he had to see how he would do it. He wanted to do it as perfectly as possible. But he couldn't even get as far as getting ready.

Roxas sighed. Why couldn't he see it? He was usually pretty good at imagining things. Was the idea that him drawing up the courage to tell a girl he liked her so impossible that it was beyond imagination? He hoped not, otherwise all his efforts until now would have been a waste.

He took a seat back in front of the computer and smiled. He had been passing time in front of the computer earlier. He was currently rereading the latest entry on Naminé's blog, and even though he's already read through it a dozen times, he still wasn't tired of it. Because it was proof besides her smile that he had really made her happy that day. He, once again, read through her post.

_Happy Valentine's everyone!_

_Something happened today. One of my friends suddenly came out of nowhere during lunch and led me to the school office..._

_...where the receptionist had a card and a rose waiting for me..._

_And I was like, Oh my god, WHO???_

_But one person already came to mind.. I asked him but he said no. And then my girl friends kept on teasing me about other guys. I really wanted to know who gave me the card and the rose, so I walked up to all these guys and asked them._

_And I so laughed at their reactions. --;_

_AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA._

_But because of my extraordinary ability to bug people, I finally got the truth out of this person.. my guy friend who said 'no' earlier.._

_HE'S THE ONE BEHIND EVERYTHING! _

It didn't say much about how she felt about the entire thing but he could feel her euphoria spilling from her words. He smiled, satisfied for now. Maybe he would read through it again in another hour, when the bubbly feeling inside of him would start to wear off.

He had to think of a way of telling Naminé. He couldn't just leave it to 'make it up as you go'. He had to be prepared, because he wasn't prepared for what might happen if things go wrong...

He reached over to his bed and took the Tigger plushie Naminé gave him in his hands.He pulled it close to himself, at once feeling some of the strain on his mind melt away. It was just so comfortable. He glanced at the clock on his bedside table. It was already four in the afternoon. He stood up and gently placed the plushie at the corner of his bed. The time for getting ready was done.

"Let's see if happy endings really can happen."

----------

Roxas walked through the double doors into the hotel where the prom was being held. Sora walked alongside him, but unlike Roxas, he wasn't nervous about anything at all, and he noticed it.

"Something wrong Roxas?" he asked. "It's not like you to get nervous about, well, anything."

"I'm fine, Sora," he smiled. "It's just that there's some stuff that's making me nervous."

"Right," he smirked. "And what exactly... would..." he trailed off, staring at something over Roxas' shoulder.

Roxas turned to see what he was staring at. Kairi, wearing a pink gown, had just walked through the doors, and Sora was already probably lost at the sight of her.

"Hi Sora! Hi Roxas!" she greeted, waving.

"Hi Kairi," he replied. Glancing at Sora, he added, "Sora says hi too."

She giggled, a little red coloring her cheeks, seeing how Sora was still ogling at her. Roxas nudged him with his elbow. "Say something," he hissed.

Sora managed to shake off a bit of the daze he was in and blushed red instead. "Hi Kairi. Erm, nice weather?"

"Dope, why would you talk about the weather when you're indoors?" taunted a voice. They turned and saw Riku enter. "C'mon Sora, haven't you learned anything from watching me?"

The taunt seemed to shake Sora more into his senses. "Well excuse me for not being as smooth as the great Riku," he smirked.

Riku was just about to make a comeback when Hayner, Olette, and Pence came out of the the hotel's ballroom. "What are you guys doing standing out here?" Hayner asked. "The prom's in there you know."

"We were just getting Sora out of his fantasies of Kairi," Roxas teased.

"Hey! I'm not the one who's nervous about the prom just because of his date," Sora shot back.

"Speaking of dates," Olette interjected before things got out of hand, "Naminé is waiting for you inside Roxas."

Roxas gulped hard upon hearing this. His nerves were already quite rattled. And now he was about to meet with Naminé, to be her date for the prom. And not only that, later tonight, he was going to tell her that he liked her. Roxas put a hand to his forehead. Things were getting way too stressful.

Kairi, seeing his condition, gave him a light nudge with her elbow. "Don't think about it too much," she smiled. "Take it one step at a time, and just follow your heart. But you should start with seeing her first."

Roxas smiled at her and nodded. He went ahead of the others and walked through the doors into the ballroom. The place was predominantly decorated in red, from the tablecloths to the drapes. In the center of the balroom was a dance floor, which was in front of the stage. The tables were put along the side of the dance floor and filled the remaining space of the ballroom.

Roxas' eyes scanned the ballroom for a certain face. There were quite a few people already there but he didn't see Naminé. But when he felt a tap on his shoulder, he knew he had found her. Or the other way round to be more exact.

"Hi Roxas," she smiled. Roxas didn't even have anything to reply with. He was just like Sora, lost just at the sight of the one he likes.

She was wearing a mint green cocktail dress, which stopped just short of her knees. He had to say that the dress really suited her. Since he came in, all the girls had been dressed in gowns, and he honestly had trouble imagining Naminé in a large flowy gown. She had her hair curled a bit, and she had some light make up on, all of which, he wouldn't say added but gave her a different kind of beauty.

_"Wow."_ Roxas was very careful not to accidentally speak his thoughts out loud. Not that he was insulting her but still...

"Hi Naminé," he finally answered after a ten-second silence. "You look great."

"Thanks," she said, smiling even more broadly. "You don't look too bad youself. Where are the others?"

"They got caught up talking just outside the ballroom," he answered. "You wanna go join them?" he asked.

Truth be told, he didn't exactly want to go join the others. It's not that he wanted to avoid them or anything, it's just that he wanted to spend more time with Naminé, just them.

"Nah." Roxas perked up at her answer. She linked arms with him and pulled him further in to the ballroom. "They'll come in eventually anyway. Besides, I came here with you," she smiled.

Roxas blushed a bit at what she said. She really was sticking to what she said long ago, that she wouldn't leave him alone if she could help it. But he wondered if she was doing it just because they were friends...

_"Heh, it doesn't really matter much. As long as we can stay like this...,"_ he smiled.

However, he remembered that they just might not be able to stay that way, especially because of what he planned to do that night. He shook his head. No, he couldn't think like that. He had promised himself he would tell her everything, and even more important, he had promised Naminé.

"Oh! Before I forget, I have something for you," Roxas said.

"Really?" Her eyes eidened in interest. "What is it?" Roxas smiled and reached into his pocket pulling out a wrist corsage of white roses.

"Oh my gosh, Roxas." Her eyes softened when she saw the delicate accesory. "It's so pretty. You've really prepared for this night, haven't you," she joked.

_"Not exactly...," _he thought, reflecting on the events a few hours ago:

_Roxas was already done preparing, or so he thought, and was just about to leave with Sora when their mother stopped them at the front door._

_"Are you boys just going there without anything for your dates?" she asked. _

_He could sense a bit of incredulity in her voice. Was it really expected of them? He wondered if Naminé was waiting for something from him. Worry started to grip him. What was he going to do? He had to leave for the prom, he didn't have time to look for something for Naminé._

_"Judging by the looks on your faces, you've got nothing ready," she sighed. _

_"Well, technically, I don't have a date," Sora reasoned smartly. "So it's just Roxas you have to tell off."_

"Sora!"

"Okay, okay! But I really don't have anything prepared, so what can I do?" he shrugged.

"Over there on the table. The red one is for Kairi, the white is for Naminé. Really, the things I do for you boys..." She mumbled the last bit, walking off and shaking her head in disappointment. Apparently, she expected more from her boys. 

_Roxas walked over to the table and looked at the two packages. He knew instantly that their mother had gone into her garden again and arranged these flowers herself. He made a mental note to thank her properly when he and Sora got home. But at the moment, he really had to go..._

Roxas smiled sheepishly, knowing he wasn't fully responsible for the wonderful gesture. "Well, I had help."

"Still, it's beautiful. Could you help me put it on?" she asked.

"Sure." He took the item in one hand and Naminé's wrist in the other. He gently tied the laces around her wrist, being careful not to tie it too tight. He took a step back and looked at her. He chuckled silently to himself. It had worked the other way around. Instead of the corsage making her more beautiful, Naminé had made the corsage look even more precious. After all, she was already beautiful to begin with.

"But I don't have anything for you...," He looked at her and saw that she was a bit disappointed in herself. Really, she was just too nice.

"Naminé, I didn't do this expecting anything from you," he smiled comfortingly. "Besides, I'm not sure it I would look good with a boutonierre on me," he joked. (A/N: A boutonierre is the flower pinned to the guys coat...I think...)

"Thank you," she said, smiling that sweet smile of hers. "And for the record, I think a boutonierre wouldn't look half bad on you."

Roxas laughed a bit at this. "Come on, let's go to our table."

They walked (actually, it was more like her dragging him, he had no idea what she was so excited about) toward their table, where they saw Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie already seated.

"Hey guys," Selphie called. "It looks like the program is about to start. Everyone's rushing in here."

True enough, when they turned, people were flooding through the double doors into the ballroom. It looked like Olette was going to lead in announcing what was going to happen that night, as they saw her reluctantly detach herself from Hayner. He and the others made their way to their table, while Olette walked up onto the stage with a microphone in hand.

"Good evening everyone!" she greeted. "I'm sure you're all itching to get started, but still, we have a program to follow. And first on the agenda is the cotillion! So will all the dancers get ready? The rest, please enjoy the show!"

The cotillion, Roxas had almost forgotten. He supposed it was because of that he managed to ask Naminé to the prom, when he accidentally lost his temper thinking Naminé had gotten a partner when she didn't. Though it ended up with her asking Pence to be her partner, it also entailed Roxas being her date. He really didn't mind Pence dancing with Naminé anyway. He really wasn't much of a dancer.

"Roxas, we've gotta go get ready now," Naminé said. She had an unsure look on her face, like she felt like she wasn't supposed to leave him. But Roxas simply smiled at her.

"If you're worrying about me, don't," he grinned. "I'll be looking out for you during the cotillion, so you better dance your best. You too, Pence," he added, facing the raven-haired boy.

"Sure," he answered. "Are you sure you're alright with this?" He actually looked a bit nervous when asking this, like Roxas was going to go berserk on him if he went through with dancing with Naminé.

Roxas laughed a bit. "Well, I can't exactly go out there without knowing the steps right? Go on. I told you guys anyway, I'm no dancer."

He watched as everyone seated at his table got up and went outside to prepare for the cotillion. He hadn't realized so many people had signed up. Nearly half of the people in the ballroom got up and went outside.

The lights in the ballroom dimmed and focused on the dancefloor between the tables. The orchestral music started playing, and all the dancers entered the ballroom. Roxas' eyes scanned the mass of dancers for a certain pair, or actually, just Naminé.

He saw them at the opposite side of the dancefloor. It was quite hard to keep track of their movements due to the mass of people that were dancing, but he managed somehow. As he watched them dance fluidly to the softly playing music, he couldn't help but feel a little jealous and left out. But hey, what could he do anyway? There's no way he was going to hold this against Pence, it was his fault in the first place for misunderstanding.

The orchestral was slowly increasing in tempo and intensity, and so were the movements of the dancers. Roxas watched Naminé as she gracefully moved along with her partner, flowing through her movements as if she were water. He continued to watch her, mesmerized, and had hardly noticed the final note of the music, the bow of all the dancers, and the applause of the audience.

Snapping into his senses, he applauded along with everyone else. The dancers dispersed and went back to their tables. Roxas lost sight of Naiminé in the crowd and for some reason, she didn't return with the others.

"Hey Pence," he said, calling the attention of the boy. "Where's Naminé?"

"She said she was going to get something she had left with a friend of hers," he replied. "Oh, there she is," nodding toward the dance floor.

Sure enough, there Naminé was, crossing the dance floor, headed toward their table. But for some reason, she had a sad look on her face.

Roxas unconsciously put a comforting arm around her. _"Where did that come from??"_

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, Roxas," she apologized, bowing her head. "I took off the corsage you gave me before the cotillion, but now I can't find it."

Roxas smiled. Naminé was a bit too thoughtful that she worries about things she shouldn't.

"Is that it? C'mon, you don't have to apologize about that," he smiled.

"But Roxas-" He cut her off immediately, smiling comfortingly.

"Enough. It's really alright, don't even give it another thought."

She finally smiled. "Alright, because you said so," she giggled.

Roxas smiled, glad that he was able to cheer her up. The prom activities continued, dinner, a small presentation and such. Roxas and Naminé were together the whole time, having their pictures taken and engaging other people in conversations.

----------

A few hours had passed when he felt a nudge from Kairi. He turned to her and she pointed to her wrist, mouthing 'the time'. He gave her a confused look but nevertheless, checked his watch for the time. His eyes widened in shock. It was already midnight! He only had one hour left to tell Naminé what he had to.

But how would he even do it? He had actually been hoping that Naminé would be the one who would bring up the subject as she was so keen to know who it was that Roxas liked. Roxas glanced at her and sighed. She was to absorbed in the prom to remember that he was supposed to tell her tonight. Well, that meant it was up to him.

On cue, a slow song started to play. He turned to Naminé.

"Hey Roxas, wanna dance?" she asked. That saved him a bit of trouble.

"Sure," he smiled.

They walked hand in hand toward the dancefloor. Roxas ignored the rapidly increasing rate of his heart beat. He needed to be calm to do this. Upon reaching the dancefloor, they faced each other, Naminé placing her hands on his shoulders, Roxas placing his at her hips. They slowly started to sway to the beat of the song.

Roxas looked at the girl he was dancing with, the girl that made his heart beat so. Her blonde hair that reached just past her shoulders, her pale skin that radiated an aura of innocence, her soft skin which felt like silk to his touch and sent electricity through his nerves whenever he was in contact with it, her azure eyes, which gave a soft yet penetrating gaze..

He was about to tell her everything.

"Naminé?" She raised her head, so that they gazed softly into each other's cerulean eyes.

"Yes, Roxas?"

"You've forgotten haven't you?" he asked, smiling playfully.

"Huh? Forgotten what?" Confusion was clearly written on her face.

"That I promised I would tell you tonight," he reminded her.

"Oh!" Realization flashed across her face. "That's right! Heehee, I guess did forget, I was having too much fun tonight."

"So do you still want to know?" he said, teasing her.

"Of course I still want to know!" she smiled. "So who is it?" She looked at him, waiting for an answer.

_"This is it. Just three words Roxas! 'I like you', that's it!"_

Roxas opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He just couldn't say it. Even though he wanted to, his body was too stubborn to actually follow his brain. His natural instinct was fighting it, just like that time when he told Kairi. Only this time, it was worse. He sighed. Now what?

Roxas smiled as an idea came to him.

"You're going to have to guess again, just like when we tried to figure out who the other was going to ask to the prom," he smiled. "Say a name and I'll tell you if it's right."

She smiled playfully. "Alright then. Is it me?"

Roxas smiled. He wasn't surprised that Naminé had started with herself. He felt like saying 'Aren't you full of yourself' but decided not to ruin the mood.

"Yep, you got it." He pulled her into a hug, his affirmation that she was truly the one he had feelings for.

He felt Naminé hug him in return. "So does this make us a couple?" she asked.

Unfortunately, Roxas' brain had chosen an untimely moment to stop functioning, and he was unable to really analyze what Naminé had said.

"But what about the guy you like?" he asked stupidly.

"Stupid!" she laughed. "I'm saying that I like you too!" Roxas could only grin in return. He pulled her into another hug, and they continued to sway to the beat of the song.

----------

Roxas had never believed the stuff that happened on TV dramas and fanfics. He had thought that they were an illusion, and those that created and entertained those things were escaping reality by hiding in that illusion.

And even though the recent events were nothing close to the drama found on TV and fanfics, it had changed his view a bit. The reason he never believed in happy endings was because he hadn't even believed that they could start. But there he was, dancing with the girls of his dreams, who had accepted and returned his feelings. This was that beginning. So maybe, just maybe, he thought and hoped, as he pulled Naminé closer to him...

_"I can believe that happy endings are real."_

* * *

A/N: Yay! It's finished! Again, I'm really, really sorry for the late update. I had to lay off for the first few weeks because of school, but then I lost my momentum and I had trouble writing again. And there have been so many distractions... sorry again. 

But it's finally finished! It took me a really long time to get back into the story. Sorry for those guys who were expecting a kiss or something, let's just say that's not how the story goes.

Thanks to the people who supported this fic! I really appreciated your reviews. Hehe, plz review, I really want to know how you guys saw this story as a whole. Suggestions are welcome, as well as criticism, as long as they're done a way I can actually use it (meaning no senseless flaming). Thanks again!


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